Market participants described another quiet week for the European green steel market.
“There are not so many projects requiring green steel in Europe – at least for now,” a source from a steel service center in Germany told Fastmarkets.
“There are only a few large customers in Europe who require green steel. Regular volumes are being sold to these buyers, but we’re not talking about significant tonnages,” a mill source in Northern Europe said.
A buyer in the Nordics told Fastmarkets they were considering purchasing 2,000-4,000 tonnes of green steel for 2026 and were currently negotiating terms.
A Germany-based white goods producer was also reported to be placing regular orders for green steel.
“We’re making trial orders for some Nordic buyers, but the volumes are not large,” a distributor told Fastmarkets.
Overall, sources agreed that the green steel market is likely to remain a niche sector over the next several months.
“Large-scale demand for green steel can only be stimulated through public projects. Otherwise, it will remain a niche market,” a second mill source said.
Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment of the green steel domestic flat-rolled differential to the HRC index, ex-works Northern Europe was stable at €100-170 ($87.02-147.93) per tonne on Thursday, unchanged since September 11.
Under Fastmarkets’ methodology, European green flat steel is defined as material produced with Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions capped at a maximum of 0.8 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced.
Sources agreed that because transactions are largely project-based, prices varied widely.
“Green steel remains a very ‘case-by-case’ market,” a buyer in Germany said.
European mills were quoting premiums for green steel starting around €200 per tonne, with some suppliers targeting €210-300 per tonne. But in practice, tradable levels were lower.
“If you ask a mill for green steel, they might initially quote a €200-per-tonne premium [minimum], but once real volumes are on the table, suppliers become more flexible,” a buyer in the Benelux region said.
Buyer sources said achievable premiums for green flat steel were typically in the range of €100-150 per tonne, with large-volume deals often concluded at €120-130 per tonne. Mill representatives suggested a slightly higher range of €150-180 per tonne.
