During the assessment week, offers for green steel with Scope 1, 2 and upstream Scope 3 carbon emissions below 0.8 tonnes per tonne of steel were reported at €200-350 ($219-329) per tonne from European suppliers, stable week on week.
Buyer sources, however, pointed out that for bigger volumes European mills could accept lower prices.
As a result, buyers’ estimations of tradeable values for such material were heard at €100-150 per tonne. The lower end, however, was deemed unworkable by sellers so far.
A distributor source reported a booking of flat steel with carbon emission content of around 0.6-0.8 tonne per tonne of steel at €170-200 per tonne in end-July-early August.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel domestic, flat-rolled, differential to HRC index, exw Northern Europe was €170-200 per tonne on Thursday, narrowing from €170-250 per tonne seven days ago.
The corresponding green steel base price, HRC, exw Northern Europe, daily inferred was €780.38 per tonne on August 15.
Demand, however, remained limited. Transactions for steel with reduced carbon content in most cases were done directly between steelmakers and end users. The automotive industry remained the major buyer of green steel in Europe, market sources said.
“The market [for green steel] is sleepy, there is a seasonal slowdown, and automotive is not performing well, so overall demand [ for green steel] remains on the low side,” a buyer in Germany said.
“Green steel market is not big, but we see more interest from automakers, and the construction industry is starting to catch up in some regions,” a seller source said.
But even key consumers were seen booking mainly test batches, and green steel uptake in general has been quite low across the steel supply chain so far, Fastmarkets understands.
Per the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard, Scope 1 refers to direct emissions generated by an entity or its subsidiaries. Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions from energy used by an organization. Scope 3 refers to indirect emissions – from activities of the entity – that occur from sources beyond their control.
