European scrap recyclers are able to invest in improving grades, but this must be done through communication with steelmakers, with margins sufficient to justify the investment, delegates heard at the Kallanish Steel Scrap 2026 conference in Istanbul on 5 February.
Higher grades of scrap will be necessary as the European steel industry targets the production of more flat steel through electric arc furnaces. In Europe, only 15% of flat products are produced from EAF steel, compared to 55% in the USA.
The difference between the two is not just technical but about communication, argues Alain Eeckman, commercial director of Casier Recycling.
In the USA, scrap suppliers and EAF mills openly discuss the best way to produce scrap products that allow the EAFs to produce better quality steel.
This has resulted in specialised low copper grades and also joint investment in scrap processing capacity. In the EU meanwhile, mills and scrap suppliers do not talk to each other effectively, Eeckman warns.
Olivier Francois, president of industry association Recycling Europe agrees, noting that European mills would always say they wanted higher quality scrap but then would not be willing to pay sufficient premium when offered it.
Recyclers would lose money if they invested heavily for a product which did not achieve a higher price.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the conference, a scrap buyer from a major European steelmaker said it was true there needed to be investment in upgrading the quality of scrap.
However, he noted that he could not be expected to pay more if his customers also would not be willing to pay more for greener steel products. If he accepted a higher scrap price without being able to pass this on to customers, it would be his margins which would be squeezed.
Author: Tomas Gutierrez UK
