Voestalpine eyes new suppliers to replace Russian coal

Voestalpine has taken measures in the past few weeks to procure additional quantities of coal due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and new sanctions against Russia, the company confirms to Kallanish.

“To date, part of the metallurgical coal required for the blast furnaces has come from Russia, but we can replace Russian coal entirely,” the enterprise claims. “The supply will be diverted to existing and new suppliers, and existing stocks will last for several months.”

Earlier, Voestalpine said it has taken “the first important decision” on the path from the coal-based blast furnace route to steel production using electric arc furnaces powered by green electricity (see Kallanish passim).

This summer, it will start clearing construction areas and converting infrastructure at its two sites in Linz and Donawitz, in preparation for its EAF transition. Next year, the group’s supervisory board will take the final decision to invest in the two EAFs, construction of which will begin in 2024. By early 2027, one EAF each at Linz and Donawitz should commence operations. From today’s standpoint, the total investment costs will run to around €1 billion ($1.1 billion).

The Austrian steelmaker has chosen the project term “Greentec” for the venture of phasing out the traditional blast furnace/oxygen route. However, sufficient quantities of renewable energy at competitive prices and efficient power grids are needed to adhere to the decarbonisation timetable.

Svetoslav Abrossimov Bulgaria