European steel investments continue apace

Often backed by national government and European Union funding, the number of electric arc furnace (EAF) steel production installations planned and underway in Europe continues to grow.

Most often citing decarbonization—the effort to reduce or eliminate a reliance on coal or other fossil fuels—the investments are joined by other projects where basic oxygen furnaces (BOFs) will continue to be used, but hydrogen or another fuel largely will replace coal.

Companies with European projects announced or underway in the past 18 months include ArcelorMittal, London-based Liberty Steel Group, Austria-based Voestalpine AG, and Germany-based Saarstahl AG; and startup firms Blastr Green Steel and H2 Green Steel, both based in Scandinavia.

In the United Kingdom, British Steel has floated the idea of a BOF to EAF conversion, but government funding to spur that plan on has not yet been arranged or announced.

The outbreak of investments has led to a steady stream of sales and installation announcements the past two years from melt shop technology providers such as Italy’s Danieli & C. S.p.A., Germany’s SMS Group, and London-based Primetals Technologies.

In 2023 alone, Recycling Today has reported numerous “green steel” installation projects in Europe that either have been announced, secured important funding or reached offtake agreements to clear a pathway for construction.

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the largest global steelmaker in Europe, is in the process of making ongoing investments to convert a sizable percentage of its former coal-based blast furnace/ BOF mills into either EAF capacity or BOF capacity that spurns the use of coal.

That firm’s efforts have gone beyond Europe and include a big-ticket EAF conversion project at a sprawling steel mill complex in Canada. Ternium S.A., another Luxembourg-based firm, also announced a large tonnage BOF to EAF conversion project earlier this year for Mexico.

In the United States, the abundant availability of ferrous scrap was long cited as the reason for steady and sizable investments in EAF mills.

Led by Nucor Corp., now America’s largest steelmaker, EAF mill installations marched across the U.S. landscape in the final quarter of the 20^th century, and such investments continue to be made by Nucor and several vigorous competitors.

As of last year, more than 70 percent of steel made in the U.S. was produced via EAF technology. Although direct-reduced iron (DRI) and other scrap alternatives have made inroads, scrap remains the predominant feedstock in the sector.

In Europe, it remains an unknown variable whether scrap will emerge as the predominant feedstock or whether, as indicated in several recent announcements, DRI and other alternatives, made with nonfossil fuel energy sources, will be the most common form of “green” steel on the continent.

The Federal Association of German Steel Recycling and Disposal Cos. (BDSV) has been engaged with officials in that nation to more than once send the message that melting steel scrap is a proven method to reduce emissions while making steel.

BDSV representatives have lobbied for scrap as important to global trade, helpful to energy security, and as worthy of more research into its overall benefits.

Across the border in Switzerland, existing EAF producer Swiss Steel Holding AG has been promoting that same notion.

Earlier this year, the firm announced findings of an emissions audit it says concluded that EAF producers use a technique that is up to 80 percent better than producers on the blast furnace route in terms of reduced CO₂ emissions.

Citing the use of scrap metal feedstock as a core part of its sustainability commitment, Swiss Steel Group CEO Frank Koch stated, when announcing the findings of the audit, “Sustainable steelmaking is in the DNA of Swiss Steel Group, which is strongly committed to decarbonization and green steel.”

EAF technology and ferrous scrap have an enduring relationship, which likely means that even steelmakers investing in DRI production will be part of an overall larger market for scrap on the continent of Europe and beyond.