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 20th 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.