Piombino steel plant relaunch plans unveiled
Steel company Metinvest Adria presented plans for the relaunch of steel production at Piombino, Italy, at a meeting on 10 June attended by Italian authorities including the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) and Italian trade unions.
An agreement will be formalized after approval by the trade unions.
Following the meeting, the unions called off a strike that had been planned for 12 June, Italian trade unions FIUM-CGL and UILM said.
In February this year, Ukrainian steelmaker Metinvest and equipment manufacturer and engineering firm Danieli signed a shareholder agreement governing their partnership in a new steel plant in Piombino, Italy. The project is governed through a joint partnership Metinvest Adria.
The Piombino steel plant, which is owned by JSW Steel, produces long steel products, including rails and operates at low capacity. Last year, Metinvest Adria finalised an agreement with JSW Steel Italia to secure access to industrial areas.
In 2024, Metinvest and MIMIT signed a declaration to promote the industrial revitalisation of Piombino through a large green steel production plant.
The new project of Metinvest Adria Piombino is anticipated to have capacity of 2.7 mt/y via electric-arc furnace production, with recycled feedstock including scrap, pig iron and direct reduced iron. The plant will partially source these raw materials from Metinvest’s operations in Ukraine. Production at the new plant is expected to start in 2027, according to McCloskey’s European Green Steel Profile.
Maria Tanatar
Italy reaches strategic agreement to relaunch green steel production in Piombino
All parties have reached an agreement on a strategic framework to relaunch the steelmaking hub in Piombino, Tuscany, Italy.
The agreement, the result of extensive discussions between the Italian ministry of enterprises and made in Italy, local authorities, the Italian State Property Agency, and the Piombino port authority, represents a key step in the country’s national plan for sustainable steel production.
The deal builds on the process launched on February 19 this year with the signing of a shareholders’ agreement between Ukrainian steel producer Metinvest and Italian plantmaker Danieli, establishing the joint venture Metinvest Adria S.p.A. to build a new low-emission steel plant in Piombino. It also follows the development agreement signed with JSW Italy, a subsidiary of India’s JSW Group, on April 18 for the modernization of the site’s rail production line.
“This agreement is the result of teamwork,” said Adolfo Urso, minister of enterprises and made in Italy, highlighting the importance of coordinated efforts among government, local institutions, and industrial partners. “Today we are looking at the opportunity to create in Piombino one of the most strategic green technology sites in both Italy and Europe,” he added, recalling the critical state of the site two years ago.
Luca Villa, CEO of Metinvest Adria, described the deal as “another concrete step” toward establishing a sustainable and competitive production facility that will serve the broader European steel supply chain. Marco Lerz, head of project finance at Danieli Group, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge green technologies to the site, with a strong focus on efficiency and minimal environmental impact.
The framework agreement will now be presented to trade unions before the formal signing. The overall goal is to transform Piombino into a key European hub for low-emission steelmaking.
