Company News
UK Steel welcomes climate funding
The British Government is to spend an estimated £250 million on cleaning up the steel industry, according to a number of online media reports.
The aim of the expenditure is to gun for zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and there are also plans to encourage business to match the funding and support other methods of reducing emissions, such as industrial carbon capture and alternative fuels, such as biomass.
According to Reuters, a total of £390 million will be available, £250 million of which will come from the Clean Steel Fund, and a further £100 million to develop the production of hydrogen, which emits no GHGs when burned.
Gareth Stace, director-general of UK Steel, said the Clean Steel Fund was 'extremely positive news' for UK steelmakers and the whole of the UK's decarbonisation efforts. He added that the fund was a vital step towards further reducing 'our carbon footprint' in the UK and 'will cement our position in a future low-carbon world'.
“Recent years’ Government policy of carbon taxation and renewables funding has added costs to steel production through higher energy bills," said Stace. "As steel is an intensively traded product, this has had
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a negative impact on the sector’s competitiveness and leads to fears that we are exporting steel production, its jobs, and emissions, rather than lowering emissions at home.
“It is crucial that the Clean Steel Fund is designed in a manner that can be best used by the steel sector and make maximum use of funds allowed by state aid. This is not a time to be too cautious, as UK steelmakers face an uncertain business environment. The Government needs to move swiftly to secure a bright future for the sector while addressing the elements which undermine our competitiveness.”
• There are a number of important facts that readers need to know regarding the price of energy for UK steelmakers. In a report entitled The Energy Price Scandal, published in December 2018, it was pointed out that:-
1. UK steel producers pay twice as much for competitors in France and 50% more than in Germany.
electricity as their
2. The electricity price disparity between German and UK power prices faced by steelmakers has increased from £18/MWh in 2017/18 to £22/MWh in 2018/19; and between French and UK power prices from £17/MWh in 2017/18 to £34/MWh in 2018/19.
3. The difference between German and UK electricity costs is the equivalent of £55 million a year to the sector.
4. Consistently higher UK electricity prices deter investment, ultimately endangering UK steel production and jobs.
5. Achieving parity with Germany could deliver a £55 million investment in the sector, a 30% increase in capital investment.
Published September 02, 2019 by Matthew Moggridge, Steel Times International.
Salzgitter AG builds new hot dip galvanizing line
• Qualitative growth in the strip steel business • Reinforcing of the premium segment for automotive customers • Contribution to securing Salzgitter as a steel location
Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH (SZFG), a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG, has launched its “Hot Dip Galvanizing 3” (FV3) project and one of its largest single investments of the last decade. The plant engineering SMS Group based in Düsseldorf is the company’s project partner.
The new production facility, with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons, supplements SZFG’s already existing hot dip galvanizing lines. “This project is a key component in the strategy of the Salzgitter Group that focuses on qualitative growth for its strip steel business. It will help us strengthen our market position as a producer of premium products for national and international customers from the automotive industry. We have decided to make this investment, even though the political and social framework conditions for major industrial projects in Germany and Europe are currently going in an unfavorable direction,” explains Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heinz Jörg Fuhrmann, Chief Executive Officer of Salzgitter AG.
FV3 is due to become operational in 2022. Advanced-high strength steels for chassis and body applications that play an important role in lightweight automotive construction and in vehicle security are then to be produced.
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Ulrich Grethe, member of the Group Management Board and CEO of SZFG’s Management Board: “At the same time, FV3 is also important for securing the sustainability of Salzgitter as a steel location and the jobs there, as this investment will enable us to further optimize our already high quality product portfolio.” The new facilities will produce hot-dip galvanized strips with thicknesses of between 0.7 and 2.5 millimetres and width of between 900 and 1,700 millimetres. The strip that is wound into coils has a maximum weight of 32 tons.
The production of high-strength and advanced-high strength steel grades is enabled through the very high cooling rates and the integration of an oxidization/reduction process in FV3’s furnace. “The range of materials will cover advanced-high strength dual-phase steels through to complex phase steels and on to quench and partitioning steels,” explains Dr.-Ing. Michael Brühl, General Manager of cold-rolled flat products at Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH. The configuration of the facilities as a whole offers the structural and technical prerequisites for realizing further innovative materials concepts.
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