French industry associations Federrec and A3M (Alliance of Ores, Minerals and Metals) signed an “unprecedented” cooperation agreement to stimulate French steel decarbonisation on 9 September, aiming to increase the share of recycled steel in national steel production.
Federrec represents France’s recycling sector, and A3M the French mining, metallurgy, steelmaking and metal recycling industries. The objective of the pact is to bring together both ends of France’s electrified steelmaking supply chain.
The press statement describes how France’s steelmaking and recycling sectors will enter a new era of collaboration under the pact, a “shift in perspective” to better appreciate that “recyclers and steelmakers now form two links in the same value chain.”
The partnership aims to “reindustrialise and transform French steelmaking” by bringing France into the top three European steel producers by 2035, increasing national production from 12 to 14 million tonnes annually, primarily via expanded electric-arc furnace (EAF) capacities.
According to the associations, realising this goal will require sufficient availability of affordable low-carbon electricity, additional investment, increased demand for low-carbon steels, regulatory alignments, and upstream development in the recycling sector to ensure French steelmakers can access necessary materials at increasingly mature technical standards.
“Today, we face a turning point rarely seen in history. […] A competitive, sovereign, and decarbonised industry can only be built with a strong and efficient circular economy,” said Raphaël Rey, President of A3M.
Federrec and A3M want the pact to build on the growing “momentum” in Europe to revitalise its industrial sovereignty, citing the European Commission’s efforts in implementing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and incoming lead market support policies in public procurement.
As such, the associations want to optimise scrap collection, processing, and utilisation for the benefit of its electrified steelmakers, considering France’s industries as well-positioned for the low-carbon transition due to strong national supply of scrap and low-carbon electricity.
Centered around five “strategic pillars” the pact seeks to:
- Support demand for low-carbon steel via the standardisation of green steel definitions and classifications, compatible with existing legislation, and integrated into public procurement mandates;
- Improve the scrap-to-steel supply chain for French steelmakers, working on scrap collection and traceability, trade flow monitoring (including potential export controls), and averting potential dependencies on e.g. direct-reduced iron imports (DRI).
- Improve steel scrap quality via technological upgrades, allowing recyclers to better align to steelmaker specification needs, and facilitate the production of a wider range of specialised or high-value steels (citing flat products).
- Strengthen economic and financing mechanisms within the French electrified steel supply chain, using “tailored financial mechanisms to secure long-term investments.”
- Promote industrial and regulatory “recognition” of recycled processes, via prioritisation in administrative procedures, such as project permitting, and better visibility of the strategic nature of Europe’s circular economy in policymaking.
A3M has a strong membership across France’s steelmakers, particularly electric-arc furnace producers, including national divisions of Aperam, CELSA, Dillinger, Marcegaglia, NLMK, Riva, and Saarstahl.
Author: Benjamin Steven
