Aurora to construct distribution facilities for Blastr’s green steel plant
Norwegian decarbonized steel developer chas announced that it has reached an agreement with Finland-based Aurora Infrastructure for the latter to build electricity distribution facilities for its green steel plant under development at Inkoo, Finland.
Accordingly, Aurora will undertake the design, construction, operation, maintenance and financing of the distribution facilities, allowing Blastr to advance its green steel project.
Additionally, Blastr will also explore the option to outsource its electricity networks to Aurora Infrastructure.
Blastr Green steel secures partner finance round for Finnish low-carbon steel plant
Blastr Green Steel has successfully completed its second strategic partner financing round to bolster the development of the integrated low carbon CO2 steel value chain, centered around its flagship steel plant located in Inkoo, Finland, the Norwegian company stated on Feb 3.
The latest financing round saw participation from three of Blastr’s founding investors and three new Finnish investors, all committed to sustainable growth. The first round of finance was done in June 2024. The company did not disclose how much has raised until now when asked by S&P Global Commodity Insights, but it confirmed that in total it should needed around Eur4 bln ($4.96 bln) of investment for its project.
Blastr is planning a direct-reduced iron (DRI-EAF) steel plant with an integrated green hydrogen production facility to produce 2.5 million mt of low-carbon steel in Inkoo, Finland. The company is also planning to build a pellet plant to produce 6 million mt of DR pellet feedstock annually to feed the steel plant in Finland. At the moment the company is looking for the DRI location and is exploring building it in the UK, the company’s spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights on Feb. 3.
The new partners include Aurora Infrastructure, Onvest Oy, and Security Trading Oy. Aurora Infrastructure specializes in asset financing and the development of electricity networks in the Nordic region, while Onvest Oy is a family-owned enterprise that supports sustainable growth initiatives. Security Trading Oy focuses on sustainable investments.
The existing investors, which include commodity giant Cargill, Finland’s state-owned venture capital firm Tesi, and Blastr’s founding entity Vanir Green Industries, have also increased their stakes in the company, but the company did not disclose by how much.
“Blastr’s green steel project is a significant industrial investment for Finland, exactly what the country needs to accelerate its transition to a sustainable future,” Aurora Infrastructure’s CEO Robin Lindahl said.
“The Inkoo site, with its existing infrastructure and strategic location, is ideally suited for such an initiative. Projects like this are what we want to support at Aurora Infrastructure, and we have a proven track record of serving some of the largest industrial sites in Finland,” he added.
In late 2024, Blastr submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the Inkoo plant to Finnish authorities. The report confirmed that the facility could be developed sustainably, and Blastr plans to apply for the necessary environmental permits in 2025.
As the demand for green steel continues to rise, Blastr Green Steel is poised to play a crucial role in transforming the steel industry while contributing to Finland’s economic growth. Platts, part of Commodity Insights, assessed Northwest European hot-rolled coil carbon accounted at Eur655/mt ex-works Ruhr on Jan. 31, stable day over day. The assessment was calculated in line with the sum of Platts’ daily carbon-accounted steel premium (CASP) assessment and Platts’ daily hot-rolled coil price assessment in Northwest Europe.
Metinvest focuses on Finland, Sweden as new markets
Metinvest restructured its exports following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has found new markets with the reopening of seaports, says chief operating officer Oleksandr Myronenko.
“First, we exported through Poland to the north, to the ports of Gdansk, Swinoujscie and others,” he told Ukrainian-based business magazine The Page. “There was also a logistics chain to the south, reaching the Romanian port of Constanta.”
“We primarily export iron ore to China and both iron ore and metal to Europe. Now we are even dealing to markets in northern Europe where we have never exported before – to Finland and a little bit to Sweden,” Myronenko said.
“They [Nordic customers] have posed a challenge as customers there are quite demanding and require very high-quality products. We have thus also started production of new types of products with increased iron content,” he added.
According to him, 2024 has been quite challenging since Metinvest did not anticipate such a drop in prices, which are currently 30-40% lower than forecast.
“In terms of steelmaking, the group managed to keep five blast furnaces operational – three at Zaporizhstal and two at Kametstal – along with the full range of rolled products. These plants have reached approximately 75% of their capacity compared with the pre-invasion situation. Considering the destruction of plants in Mariupol, Metinvest’s steel production now stands at around 35-40% of pre-war levels,” Myronenko noted.
Ukraine’s steelmakers are sustaining these production volumes thanks to the reopening of seaborne exports, Kallanish notes.
“We started the year with rather modest production expectations of around 1 million tonnes/month of iron ore,” Myronenko said. “However, the consistent operation of the ports ensured steady demand from Ukraine’s steelmakers, and by the end of the year we had reached 1.6-1.7m t/m. This represents 40-50% of capacity compared with 2021. Three of the group’s mining and processing plants are currently operating.”
The company was forced to suspend operations at Inghulets Iron Ore due to high tariffs for imported electricity during power outages. Given the specifics of the production chain and high energy costs, maintaining operations became inefficient, Myronenko continued.
“Central Iron Ore and Northern Iron Ore are operating quite well. Southern Iron Ore is severely impacted by power restrictions caused by missile attacks on Ukraine, forcing us to balance consumption,” he said. “We have simply suspended some of the equipment there.”
Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria
Ruukki opens new roof profile production
Ruukki Construction, part of SSAB, has opened the new roof profile production line in Vimpeli, Finland, Kallanish notes.
Recent years have seen Ruukki spend a total of €8 million ($8.4m) on the Vimpeli plant as part of a multi-year investment programme. In Vimpeli, the company has further improved product properties, streamlined material flows, increased production capacity and the degree of automation, upgraded production lines, and improved social and civil defence shelter facilities, SSAB notes.
The almost 100-metre profiling line in Vimpeli will double the production capacity of the plant’s snap lock roofing. It is dedicated to making Ruukki Classic, Ruukki Classic LowCarbon and Ruukki Trendic profiles, and is the largest single machine investment in the project, which was announced in December 2021.
The improvements will result in new, better and more sustainable roofing products, more efficient for installation partners as well as for house builders and renovators, SSAB says.
Christian Koehl Germany
Finland: Metso launches DRI smelting pilot facility to do customer-specific testing
Metso inaugurated a direct reduced iron smelting furnace pilot facility in Pori, Finland, with its hot commissioning to follow imminently, the Finnish industrial machinery company said in an Oct. 25 statement.
The new facility will allow customer-specific testing to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of Metso’s Outotec DRI Smelting Furnace technology. This technology was designed to substitute traditional blast furnaces in iron and steel production, significantly reducing emissions when combined with a direct reduction plant, such as Metso’s own 100% hydrogen-based Circored or other DR processes.
“The investment into the pilot furnace supports the rapidly increasing demand for testing when planning a transition to emissions-free smelting,” Metso’s Vice President Jyrki Makkonen said. “With the pilot facility, we can reliably test various types of customer materials for industrial scale-up.”
Metso announced it was investing Eur8 million ($8.7 million) in a prototype direct reduced iron smelting furnace in January.
Outokumpu improves stainless steel production in Europe
The European steel producer Outokumpu’s performance in the second quarter was relatively satisfactory, and the profitability improved from the first quarter. However, the company still has concerns about problems in the European business area.
The chief executive officer (CEO) said that to generate profits in a difficult operating environment, they must step up efforts to improve their cost competitiveness in Europe, particularly in commodity stainless steel production. The company aims to achieve further cost savings and optimize commodity stainless steel production in Finland and Germany.
The CEO pointed out that the factory in Tornio, Finland, has Europe’s most cost-effective and highest output. They intend to leverage Nordic clean energy and competitive energy prices.
Blastr chooses Primetals and Midrex for greenfield mill
Blastr Green Steel has selected Primetals Technologies as its technology partner for the planned steel plant in Inkoo, Finland, which will produce 2.5 million tonnes/year of ultra-low-CO2 steel.
The partnership encompasses the design of a direct reduced iron plant, an electric steelmaking melt shop, an Arvedi ESP line, and a continuous pickling and galvanizing line. Primetals will develop the up to 100% hydrogen-based DRI plant in collaboration with Midrex Technologies.
The Midrex H2TM plant, powered by up to 100% green hydrogen, will produce hot DRI for direct charging, as well as hot-briquetted iron, enabling Blastr to provide iron feedstock for customers.
Primetals will be responsible for the full electrics and automation, including advanced automation systems and solutions for optimised production management. “The production process will be optimised with digitalisation, enhanced use of robot technology, and advanced solutions for remote control,” says Andreas Viehboeck, head of Upstream Technologies at Primetals.
The secondary metallurgy equipment, consisting of a ladle furnace and an RH vacuum degasser, will enable Blastr to produce top-quality steel grades for the automotive sector, among other industries, Kallanish understands. In addition, Primetals will provide a system to treat off-gases and a plant to recover waste heat for the electric steel plant, ensuring energy is reused efficiently.
Christian Koehl Germany
