Another German mill pauses due to power-cost spike
A sudden surge of power prices in Germany has caused special bar quality mill Georgsmarienhütte to suspend production, Kallanish understands.
In a post on LinkedIn, managing director Anne-Marie Grossmann writes that production had to be stopped Monday morning. The day-ahead electricity price that morning had reached €432/MWh ($449). By comparison, sudden peaks prior to 2019 would never go beyond €130/MWh, Grossmann notes. She expresses outrage about “a failure of energy policy in Germany – the land of engineers and innovators” and how it falls behind other countries that have lower energy costs.
GMH is not the first steelmaker that stopped production this winter because of power price peaks. In December, Feralpi’s rebar mill in Riesa suspended output for two days amid a sudden surge in power prices that compounded the difficult market situation (see Kallanish 16 December). Back then, the power prices on the spot exchange climbed as high as €900/MWh.
The surges are attributable to a low in wind and solar power production after a long period of overcast skies with little wind. Such occasional “dark lulls” (“Dunkelflaute”) are becoming symptomatic in Germany, which is trying to change its energy supply towards renewables, mainly wind and solar energy.
Hence, Grossmann especially attacked the political trend of abolishing nuclear and fossil power generation too quickly before a stable supply from renewables can be relied on. According to Berliner Zeitung, GMH already adjusted its production rhythm of its electric-arc furnace to shorter shifts in early January. The newspaper cites company sources as saying that the mill is nevertheless maintaining its capacity to guarantee deliveries to customers.
Christian Koehl Germany
GMH Gruppe buys scrap company in Saarland
Germany’s GMH (Georgsmarienhütte) Gruppe is set to acquire ALBA Metall Saar GmbH, a scrap and metal trading company based in Bous, Saarland state. The acquisition is a further step in GMH Gruppe’s strategic expansion in the steel scrap market, it notes.
The acquisition agreement was signed at the end of July, and is now subject to the fulfilment of various closing conditions, which must be completed by 30 August, Kallanish understands. The Federal Cartel Office has already approved the transaction under antitrust law, GMH notes.
By broadening its geographical footprint into southwest Germany, GMH Gruppe says it will enhance its scrap recycling network and processing. The group’s headquarters and main mill is in Georgsmarienhütte, near Osnabrück in northern Germany, Lower Saxony. The group also owns a mill in Saarland, also located in Bous. Stahlwerk Bous is one of Germany’s lesser-known mills, as it produces only ingots for the group’s internal processes.
As part of the acquisition, ALBA Metall Saar GmbH will be renamed GMH Recycling Saar GmbH and will be integrated into GMH Gruppe’s organisational structure, with a full merger expected by 2025.
Christian Koehl Germany
