Steel Times International Digital December 2023 by Quartz Business Media

CIRCULARITY

PROFILE

SCRAP MARKETS

INNOVATIONS SPECIAL

Alleima’s recipe for sustainable steel production.

Danny Meeks, CEO of Greenwave Technologies.

Innovation leads the way.

ABB upgrades arc furnace breaker in Québec.

Since 1866

www.steeltimesint.com Digital Edition - December 2023 - No.28

SCRAP: THE UNLIKELY HERO OF SUSTAINABILITY

GSM 200 to capacity and GFM 100 to capacity in operation at NAF, New Castle / PA

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GIR-P 1 to capacity in operation at Standard Steel, Burnham / PA

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GFM 150 to capacity in operation at Scot Forge, Spring Grove / IL

CONTENTS – DIGITAL EDITION DECEMBER 2023

Front cover photo courtesy of

2 Leader by Catherine Hill.

38 Future Steel Forum 2024 Details of the upcoming Forum.

4 News round-up Six pages of global steel news.

40 Scrap supplement Local scrap: a sustainability enabler for Europe.

KOCKS GMBH & CO KG The KOCKS RSB® 500++/4 with its more advanced design rolls the first bar in a Chinese SBQ rolling mill.

13 Innovations New products and contracts.

EDITORIAL Editor Matthew Moggridge Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855151 matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com Assistant Editor Catherine Hill Tel:+44 (0) 1737855021 Consultant Editor Dr. Tim Smith PhD, CEng, MIM Production Editor Annie Baker Advertisement Production Martin Lawrence SALES International Sales Manager Paul Rossage paulrossage@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855116 Sales Director Ken Clark kenclark@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855117

20 Innovations Special ABB upgrades arc furnace breaker. 22 USA update Consolidation sparks fear. 25 Latin America update Brazilian steel’s co-products and wastes. 28 India update JSW targets production growth.

Managing Director Tony Crinion tonycrinion@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164

34 Scrap supplement The recipe for circularity.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Diprose SUBSCRIPTION Jack Homewood subscriptions@quartzltd.com Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034

44 Scrap supplement Scrap metal: too good to waste. 47 Scrap Supplement: Profile From trash to treasure. We talk to Danny Meeks, CEO Greenwave Technology. 50 Scrap supplement Steady wins the race. 54 Perspectives Q&A: Tvarit Cutting edge technology. We talk to Vikas Goel, vice-president of operations at Tvarit. 56 History Cantlop Bridge - a cast iron kit for bridge construction.

40 Steel Times International is published 12 times a year (including four digital issues) and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £226.00 Other countries: £299.00 2 years subscription: UK £407.00 Other countries: £536.00 3 years subscription: UK £453.00 Other countries: £625.00 Single copy (inc postage): £50.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com Published by: Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER send address changes to Steel Times International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437.

47 ©Quartz Business Media Ltd 2023

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LEADER

Old industry, new tricks

Catherine Hill Assistant editor catherinehill@quartzltd.com

It’s been a year of highs and lows for the steel industry. There’s the ‘Big Three’ automaker’s strike in the US, which was the longest American auto strike in 25 years, feared job losses throughout the UK, with British Steel still set to cut up to 2,000 jobs, and Tata’s Port Talbot plant similarly bracing for around 3,000 losses– both as a result of the companies’ planned closure of blast furnaces. Nucor has gone nuclear, investing $35m in fusion deployment, certiﬁcation standard organizations such as ResponsibleSteel and the Global Steel Climate Council have battled over a ‘green steel’ deﬁnition, steelmakers, such as SSAB, have continued to develop and brand low-carbon products, and global governments have invested into a variety of ways to strategize industrial climate targets, with an emphasis on clean energy sources such as hydrogen. There’s an evident tension between decarbonization and its socio-economic costs; companies such as Tata and British Steel are still negotiating how much they are willing to pay, in human terms, to transform the sites from renowned

emitters into sustainable powerhouses. But the impetus to transition is there; change is being issued around the world, and the act of going green is now widely understood to be a far more multi-faceted and complex matter than converting a few furnaces.The adoption of innovative tech and structural entrenchment of clean energy sources will be key to achieving what currently feels like the implausible goal of net-zero by 2050, and scrap is crucial in the discussion. The continued development of its collection and reﬁnement will unlock viable pathways to climbing the unyielding slopes toward a sustainable future; there is no magic saveall solution, only the dogged research and deployment of processes such as hydrogen steelmaking, scrap reﬁnement, DRI production, and even CCUS. 2024 will bring further innovation and investment into an industry that is now far from its dirty, smoky roots – and with climate deadlines drawing ever closer, there’s a ever-growing sense of urgency in unearthing attainable mechanisms to hit net-zero, that with any luck, will drive inspiration, rather than exhaustion.

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NEWS ROUND-UP

Australia-based firm, Magnum Mining & Exploration, has partnered with Saudi Arabian company, Middle East for Metallic Industrial (Midmetal), to co-fund a feasibility study on the production of zero-carbon green pig iron. The feasibility study will evaluate the technical and economic advantages of producing green pig iron in Saudi Arabia using HIsmelt technology, which involves smelting waste materials from Saudi steel mills and iron ore concentrate from Magnum's Buena Vista mine in Nevada, USA. These materials will be smelted into high-quality pig iron using biochar sourced from sustainably produced biomass. Source: MEsteel, 3 November 2023.

ArcelorMittal Tubarão and EDP, a company that operates in all segments of the Brazilian electricity sector,

A new historical TV drama exploring the key role the Forest of Dean played in Britain’s industrial revolution is being developed by

award-winning filmmakers. Midlands-based production company Checklist Films is adapting a novel by local author Keith Thomas, ‘The Iron Rose’, for the small screen, which tells the story of steel pioneer Robert Forester Mushet, his family, the people, life, and industries of the Forest of Dean during the 1800s. Source: The Forester, 11 November 2023

have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of a pilot plant for the production and use of green hydrogen in the steel manufacturing process. The initiative is part of ArcelorMittal Tubarão’s efforts to boost the production of low-carbon steel. Source: Green Car Congress, 4 November 2023

Thyssenkrupp’s planned sale of half its steel business to a Czech billionaire has stalled due to talks with key customers, hinging on the conglomerate investing about €1 billion in the business, according to people familiar with the matter. The German company has been in talks with Daniel Kretinsky for over a year. The negotiations are taking place against a backdrop of low prices for the metal and higher costs for coal, a key production expense. Source: Bloomberg, 10 November 2023.

SSAB Americas will supply its low-carbon SSAB Zero steel to GE Vernova Onshore Wind for wind towers in North America. SSAB Zero, made at SSAB Americas’ plate mill in Montpelier, Iowa, will help GE reach its carbon emissions objectives, while also maintaining the quality needed for this ‘sophisticated end-use application,’ the steelmaker said in a press release. SSAB Americas is a subsidiary of Sweden’s SSAB. Source: Steel Market Update, 10 November 2023.

Tata Steel CEO and managing director, T V Narendran, has been elected as the vicechairman of worldsteel, with Leon Topalian, president and CEO of Nucor Corporation elected as its chairman. The industry association also appointed Narendran to the executive committee along

with JSW Steel's managing director Sajjan Jindal and ArcelorMittal executive chairman Lakshmi Mittal. The individuals on the executive board of directors will hold office for one year. Source: The Avenue Mail, 11 November 2023. www.steeltimesint.com

NEWS ROUND-UP

According to data provided by Ukrmetalurgprom, in JanuaryOctober 2023, Ukraine’s steel production reached 5.16Mt, which is 88.3% of the 2022 result. Ukraine’s pig iron production over the reporting period amounted to 4.91Mt (84.4% compared to JanuaryOctober 2022), with rolled

products reaching 4.37Mt (87%). 88kt of steel products and more than 172kt of iron ore and raw materials were exported from Ukraine’s ports over two months since the temporary humanitarian corridor was launched. Source: Ukrinform, 12 November 2023

ARCCO Group subsidiary MSMetals is setting up a fully computerised and automated factory for metal solutions and modular building construction in Saudi Arabia. Construction work has already started, and

the factory is expected to be operational by March 2024. The plant aims to capitalise on the growth of Saudi Arabia’s construction projects market. Once operational, the factory will supply light gauge steel structures for modular and prefabricated buildings, bathroom and kitchen pods and containerised modular units for construction projects in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region. Source: MEED, 13 November 2023

Material shortages in Germany's manufacturing sector have eased considerably, with the supply situation almost back to precrisis level, the Munich-based www.steeltimesint.com

The Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC) has granted JSW Steel USA $1 million in financial assistance for two pivotal rail projects at its Mingo Junction facility. These projects align with JSW Steel USA’s recent announcement of a $145 million expansion, aimed at enhancing services to the renewable energy and infrastructure sectors. The combined estimated cost of the two rail projects is $5.1 million, contributing to the increased capacity for finished products and scrap processing for JSW Steel. Source: Manufacturing Today, 12 November 2023

UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt is planning to introduce levies on imported carbon-intensive goods from countries with weaker climate regulations from 2026, mirroring ifo Centre for Macroeconomics measures being introduced and Surveys has announced. In by the EU. The plan follows a consultation earlier this year October, 18.2% of companies on whether to introduce a surveyed by the institute ‘carbon border adjustment reported problems, down mechanism’, or CBAM, to from 24% in September. By protect industries from unfair comparison, supply problems competition from regions for the sector peaked in with lower carbon costs. The December 2021, when 82.4% EU soft-launched its CBAM reported that they had an issue. "Things are almost back programme in September to tackle ‘carbon leakage’, when to pre-crisis levels," said the companies move production institute’s head of surveys, to countries with weaker or Klaus Wohlrabe. non-existent carbon costs Source: yahoo!finance, while retaining free access to 13 November 2023

A UK steel locker manufacturer has achieved what it claims is a world first for its sector, having been awarded certification attesting to its carbon neutrality. Locit, based in Northern England, received PAS 2060 certification, the internationally recognised specification for carbon neutrality published by the British Standards Institution. It demonstrates carbon neutrality claims are both credible and verified to increase accountability and consumer confidence. Locit is now continuing its push towards net zero manufacturing and is on target to reduce emissions at its factory by a further 50% this year. Source: Herald Wales, 13 November 2023

markets where heavy industry pays for emissions. Source: The Financial Times, 13 November 2023 Digital Edition - December 2023

NEWS ROUND-UP

An advice firm associated with the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) has failed after the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) received claims against it. D C Financial Limited, formerly SystemCover Limited, was declared in default on 9 November and has a total of 111 claims. The claims are related to pension transfer advice. The FSCS also confirmed that the company is one of those associated with claims regarding BSPS. Source: FT Advisor, 13 November 2023.

Following on from the announcement by British Steel that steelmaking will return to Teesworks under proposals to build an electric arc furnace at Lackenby, near Redcar, a total of 43 business units have been planned for construction as part of the development. Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said the units will provide new companies and existing firms with a ‘modern space’ to ‘expand and grow.’ A memorial garden providing a tribute to workers who have tragically died will also be present at the former steelworks site. Source: The Northern Echo, 13 November 2023.

Spanish manufacturer Gonvarri Solar Steel has strengthened its presence in the UK market with the signing of a contract for the supply of fixed structures needed for a 50-MW solar project in the country. The agreement

concerns the company’s RackSmarT dual-post fixed structures, with 1,681 units in total, and marks the 26th project to be equipped by Solar Steel in the UK over the past decade. Part of steel group Gonvarri Industries, Solar Steel specialises in solar trackers and fixed structures for PV projects, having so far completed deliveries for more than 20 GW of power generating capacity across the world. Source: Renewables Now, 14 November 2023.

According to media reports, Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has laid off 700 workers and is reducing production at its plants due to a sharp increase in imported steel. Gustavo Werneck, CEO of Gerdau, pointed out that Brazil's steel imports grew by 58% during the first nine months of this year, totalling 3.7Mt. The company estimated that steel imports will reach 5Mt in 2023, which will be the highest rate since 2010, equivalent to the production of two integrated plants. Source: Yieh Corp Steel News, 13 November 2023.

ArcelorMittal and Schneider Electric, supplier of digital solutions, have announced a partnership whereby ArcelorMittal will supply Schneider Electric with XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel for its electrical cabinets and

The CEO of mining company Teck Resources has said that its decision to sell a majority stake in its coal business to Swiss commodities giant Glencore represents the best possible outcome after nearly a year of negotiations. Glencore has agreed to pay $6.9 billion for a 77% stake in the coal business, known as Elk Valley Resources. Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. will acquire a 20% stake in exchange for its interest in one of Teck's coal operations and $1.7 billion in cash, while South Korean steel manufacturer POSCO will swap its interest in Teck's coal operations for a 3% stake in the overall steelmaking coal operations. Source: Elliot Lake Today, 14 November 2023.

enclosures. ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel will be used by Schneider Electric to manufacture the new PanelSeT SFN floor-standing enclosures built to protect large electrical panels for industrial automation, power distribution and electronic applications. Source: Voltimum, 15 November 2023.

Liberty Powder Metals, has been acquired by a group of private investors and will henceforth be known as Globus Metal Powders. The company, based in Middlesbrough, UK, produces a range of metal powders for additive manufacturing and powder metallurgy technologies. “Globus Metal Powders and our team of professionals will continue to drive excellence and growth, we are very proud of the successes achieved and are excited about the new opportunities the acquisition will offer in terms of growth, productivity, and profitability,” the company stated. Source: Metal AM, 15 November 2023.

NEWS ROUND-UP

ArcelorMittal has announced the first industrial production of ethanol at its Steelanol plant, Europe’s first carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) project. The milestone was achieved on 7 November 2023, at ArcelorMittal Belgium’s Gent plant. The first industrial-scale production is a significant step in the journey to the full commissioning of the Steelanol facility. Throughout the project, ArcelorMittal has worked with its partners LanzaTech, Primetals Technologies and E4Tech. Source: GlobeNewsWire, 16 November 2023.

Bosnian manufacturer of long steel products ArcelorMittal Zenica, part of Luxembourgbased steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, has temporarily stopped production due to the unfavourable conditions prevailing on the steel market, local media has reported. The company intends to resume operations as soon as demand recovers to a level that ‘enables sustainable operations’. Source: SeeNews, 17 November 2023.

Lifting equipment supplier Konecranes will provide 16 cranes to Hybar, an environmentally sustainable scrap metal recycling and steel production company in the United States. These cranes, including ladle, charge, rolling mill, and shipping bay models, will be instrumental in supporting Hybar’s steel rebar production. The order was won in September 2023, with deliveries scheduled in 2024 and early 2025. Hybar’s first mill is currently being built to produce a full complement of high-yielding rebar for large industrial projects. Source: Hellenic Shipping News, 16 November 2023.

Mexican long steel producer Deacero has ordered five new scrap shredders from Italian plant builder Danieli to process light domestic scrap and car bodies. These new plants will feature magnetic separation, which will allow the company to have cleaner scrap, it is claimed. Danieli’s

Russian steelmaker NLMK has said that CEO Grigory Fedorishin was stepping down and that it will elect a new boss, with candidates to be announced this month. In a statement, the company said it had achieved the targets of its 2018-23 strategy cycle and that now was a ‘logical time’ to set new goals. Fedorishin, in charge since 2018, will remain a board member. Source: Reuters, 16 November 2023.

patented inverter will enable Deacero to lower operational costs. According to Danieli, the equipment in question will be manufactured and assembled by its specialized workshops in Thailand and Italy. Source: Steel Orbis, 17 November 2023.

Liberty Galati, part of GFG Alliance, is restarting its No. 5 blast furnace in the Galati steel plant in Romania. This blast furnace is the only one in operation and its annual capacity is over 2Mt. Due to bad weather and low water levels in the Danube, raw material couldn't be delivered and the furnace was suspended from the beginning of October. Source: Yieh Corp Steel News, 17 November 2023.

A man was taken to hospital after police were called to reports that someone had ‘fallen from a height’ at CELSA UK’s Tremorfa steelworks. South Wales Police said the alarm was raised just after 1pm on 16 November. A spokeswoman said: "South Wales Police were called just after 2.25pm by the Welsh Ambulance Service with a report of a man having fallen from a height in the Tremorfa Steel Works on Rover Way, Splott." Source: Wales Online, 18 November 2023.

NEWS ROUND-UP

Vulcan Green Steel, part of the Jindal Steel Group, has secured a 30-year land lease agreement with the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ) to develop and operate a state-of-the-art integrated steel mill complex at the Port of Duqm. The company intends to harness green electricity and green hydrogen throughout the supply chain, resulting in an 85% reduction in carbon emissions compared to conventional steel production. Source: Zawya, 18 November 2023.

The UK-based Materials Processing Institute has appointed Jonathon Stormon from Hexagon Consultants as its interim CEO following Chris McDonald’s decision to stand down from the role he has held for almost a decade. The move, which follows Chris’ selection as the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for Stockton North, allows the Institute’s chair and council to prepare the Digital Edition - December 2023

Staff at ArcelorMittal Zenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina are to go on strike for higher wages, local media has reported. The Independent Trade Union of ArcelorMittal Zenica did not accept a new collective agreement offered by the management which included a higher meal allowance and holiday bonus, but not a salary increase. The workers at this company, approximately 2,200 of them, have been working without a collective agreement since 31 May, when the previous one expired. Source: SeeNews, 20 November 2023.

Teesside-based organisation for new leadership as it begins the process to recruit a permanent successor. Jonathon has 25 years’ experience of working across multiple sectors, including manufacturing, engineering, and construction, and was head of transformation for Liberty Steel Europe between 2019 and 2021. Source: Business Up North, 24 November 2023.

Australia-based Fortescue Metals has been given the green light for $750 million in funding over three years and directed towards two green energy projects and a green steel project. The board of Fortescue announced a final investment decision (FID) for the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub, in the US, the Gladstone PEM50 project, in Queensland and a green iron trial commercial plant in Western Australia. These, the company said, were three of the first green hydrogen deals ever to be progressed to FID in the US and Australia, with a pipeline of projects – Pecem, in Brazil; Project Chui, in Kenya; and Holmaneset, in Norway – to follow. Source: Mining Weekly, 21 November 2023

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided another senior loan of $150 million to ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) to ensure the continuity of operations in

Bruks Siwertell, supplier of dry bulk handling and wood processing systems, has secured a contract for the design and supply of a new biocarbon pellet plant, which will replace coal in steelmaking and deliver renewable energy to one of the first green steel production facilities of its kind. The plant, based in Columbus, Mississippi, USA, has been ordered by one of the largest steel producers in the world, Steel Dynamics Incorporated (SDI), as part of a US joint venture company between SDI and Aymium, SDI Biocarbon Solutions. Source: Lesprom Network, 21 November 2023

Ukraine. According to the EBRD, the loan will be used to finance the working capital needs of the steelmaker, a joint stock company majority owned by ArcelorMittal Group. Source: Ukrainian Journal. com, 23 November 2023.

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10 NEWS ROUND-UP

Tata Steel, in association with the Odisha Athletic Association, hosted the first edition of the ‘Joda Run-athon’ in Joda, Central India. The event had the theme: 'Run for a Greener Tomorrow'. More than 5,000 people took part in the event, and a large crowd gathered to cheer on the runners. The run was organized in three main categories: 10k and 7k for men and women aged 15 years and above, and 5k for boys and girls under the age of 16. Additionally, a special 2K run was organized for disabled participants to ensure inclusivity. Source: Prameya News, 26 November 2023.

US Steel issued layoff warnings to 1,000 employees of its Granite City, Illinois, mill, saying it expects to fire 60% of them due to indefinite idling of iron and steelmaking operations at the facility.

German steelmaker Dillinger has launched a new environmental product declaration (EPD) for its heavy plate steel, emphasizing their commitment to ecofriendly steel production. The declaration aims to provide customers with clear environmental data, aiding in their efforts to reduce carbon footprints. The EPD adheres to ISO 14025 and EN 15804+A2 standards, offering accessible environmental data to European customers. Source: Steel Guru, 27 November 2023.

The mill has a total of 1,300 steelworkers. 400 employees have already been temporarily laid off due to idling in September. US Steel explained the factors that went into their decision, stating: "The plan ensures that our melt capacity is balanced with our order book. Because we can meet customer demand by leveraging our active iron and steelmaking facilities, we have made the decision to indefinitely idle Granite City’s primary operations." Source: Fox Business, 29 November 2023.

A steel plant is set to be constructed in Mekele city, Ethiopia, through a collaboration between Ethiopian and Chinese investors. The anticipated impact of the project includes the creation of job opportunities for around 6,000 people. The Ethiopian investor, Yared Tesfaye, will reportedly fund 75% of the steel production, while the remaining 25% will be supported by Li Yoon, a Chinese investor. The project is scheduled to commence operations in 10 months. Source: 2 Merkato, 27 November 2023

Plant supplier SMS group has secured the contract from Nordic steelmaker SSAB to engineer, deliver and construct a new electric arc furnace (EAF) for steelmaking at SSAB’s site in Oxelösund, Sweden. The scope of supply includes a 190-ton alternate current-electric arc furnace (AC-EAF) capable of processing various raw materials, including fossil-free Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) or Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI), and scrap. Source: Engineering News, 1 December 2023.

The business case for the UK's first new deep coal mine for 30 years is ‘dead’, a Cumbrian member of parliament (MP) has said. Westmorland and Lonsdale Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron said the country's two largest steel manufacturers did not want the coking coal the mine near Whitehaven in West Cumbria would produce. "And I obviously think that digging coal and other fossil fuels out of the ground to burn them in a climate emergency is just stupid," he said. The mine's operator, West Cumbria Mining, had said it would extract coking coal for steelmaking in the UK and Europe. Source: BBC, 3 December 2023.

Luxembourg-based steel tube producer Tenaris has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Canadian materials technology company Mattr’s pipe coating business unit for $182.6 million. The business acquired includes nine plants located in Canada, Mexico, Norway, Indonesia, the UAE, and the US. The business also includes R&D facilities in Canada and Norway, and a wide product portfolio. Source: Steel Orbis, 4 December 2023

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INNOVATIONS

Tenova to supply new steelmaking line Tenova, an Italian plant builder, has received an order from Hasçelik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS, to install and commission equipment in a new plant in Osmaneli (Bilecik, Turkey). Hasçelik is one of Turkey’s leading manufacturers of special steel with a total of five manufacturing plants and other locations worldwide. The new line will comprise of a Consteel® Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) equipped with Consteerrer®, an electro-magnetic liquid steel stirring system, a ladle furnace (LF) and a twin vacuum degasser (VD). All units are linked and governed by an extensive automation system to optimize the whole process and guarantee high quality steel grades, says Tenova. The unit selected by Hasçelik will be the first continuously charged EAF in Turkey, says Tenova. According to the company, the continuous charge makes the process robust where the variation of scrap density, quality, and content of volatile compounds are concerned. At the heart of the system is the new Consteel® Evolution based on a full-platform EAF with single-point roof lifting system, a combination that Tenova claims brings the benefits of energy efficiency, reduced workforce, increased reliability, improved productivity and reduced environmental impact.

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Within Consteel® the fumes from the EAF are used to pre-heat raw materials inside the pre-heating section while the scrap is delivered to the crucible with a steady, controlled flow. Organic compounds developing from the non-metallic portion of the scrap get pyrolyzed and combusted within the system, guaranteeing the minimum possible generation of noxious substances such as dioxins and furans. The system also reduces noise and provides a safer and healthier working environment, claims Tenova, while eliminating the need for personnel operating in hazardous areas. The new Consteel® furnace will be equipped with Consteerrer®, a technology jointly developed by ABB and Tenova as part of an exclusive global partnership agreement. Consteerrer® is an application of ABB’s ArcSave®non-contact electromagnetic stirring technology designed specifically for continuous charging EAFs. As described by ABB, it reduces thermal losses, increases melt rate, homogenizes liquid steel and reduces oxygen content in the bath. The technology can be customized to match the needs of different EAFs and retrofitted on existing units. “Together with Tenova experts, we designed a tailor-made solution that allows for a future ex-

pansion of the current facility. In addition to this, the specific technologies of Consteel® and Consteerrer® perfectly fit with our needs”, said Naci Faydasiçok, Hasçelik’s chairman of the board. “With this project, Hasçelik is investing to increase its competitiveness within the market of high steel grades. Scrap characteristics in terms of purity and density are, in fact, worsening and the Consteel® technology is fundamental to maintaining high-quality production”, said Davide Masoero, Tenova’s area manager Europe, electric arc and ladle furnaces. “In light of rising commodity and energy costs, as well as a greater focus on sustainability, process efficiency is more important than ever”, said Zaeim Mehraban, global sales manager, metallurgy products at ABB. “Using the unique and proven ABB ArcSave®-based electromagnetic stirring technology found at the core of Consteerrer®, Hasçelik will be able to increase productivity and energy efficiency in their electric arc furnace process, and contribute to both financial and sustainability goals”.

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Digital Edition - December 2023

INNOVATIONS

Combilift’s CB70E wins award Combilift, the largest global manufacturer of multi-directional trucks, articulated forklifts and straddle carriers, has received an award for its Combi-CB70E electric model. The product has been honoured with the Italian Terminal and Logistics Award, which recognises innovation in the operational field and commitment to operator training and safety. The Italian Terminal and Logistics Award is presented annually to highlight the skills of operators in port, intermodal and logistics terminals

both in Italy and abroad. The new piece of equipment is a further addition to Combilift’s ever growing range of electric models which, according to Combilift, offers powerful performance, extensive battery life and unrivalled ergonomics. This model, in Combi-green livery, is the shortest 7t capacity counterbalance truck currently available on the market. Martin McVicar – CEO and co-founder of Combilift, accepted the award alongside their EA

Group partners and commented: “We are honoured to receive the Italian Terminal and Logistics Award for the CB70E. This recognition validates our unwavering commitment to innovation, safety and training in the material handling industry. The CB70E is a perfect example of our dedication to providing our customers with efficient, eco-friendly and safe solutions.” For further information, log on to https://combilift.com/combi-cb70e/

SMS group signs MOU to drive green steel development As part of their partnership, SMS group and PT Gunung Raja Paksi Tbk (GRP) co-hosted a two-day ‘Focus Group Discussion (FGD)’ event in Jakarta, Indonesia. Under the banner of Green Steel in the Digital Age: A Focus Group Exploring Carbon Footprint Reduction, the event brought together key stakeholders in the Indonesian steel industry. The event saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between SMS group and GRP, symbolizing their commitment to advancing sustainable steel industry procedures and processes through digital solutions. Argo Sangkaeng, president and director of GRP, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “We are very enthusiastic about Digital Edition - December 2023

hosting this FGD event with SMS, and we believe that this collaboration will bring positive changes to the Indonesian steel industry. We hope to explore innovative and sustainable solutions that will help reduce the environmental impact of steel production.” Speakers at the event included Tim Kleier, head of green steel at SMS, who shared insights into pioneering decarbonization strategies and the implications of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) for the industry, emphasizing the pathway toward a greener and more sustainable steel sector. Lis Soares, head of energy management at SMS, explored strategies for quantifying and mitigating carbon emissions in steel production while navigating the complex

landscape of carbon taxes. Additionally, Bernhard Steenken, co-chief sales officer India and Asia Pacific at SMS group, spoke on green technologies aimed at curtailing carbon emissions in steel production. He went on to say, “We are delighted to participate in this focus group discussion together with GRP. We believe that this collaboration will have a significant positive impact on the steel industry in Indonesia. This event provides a valuable opportunity to explore innovative and sustainable solutions that will help reduce the environmental impact of steel production.”

For further information, log on to www.sms–group.com www.steeltimesint.com

INNOVATIONS 15

Primetals implements new measurement system Primetals Technologies has and implemented a safety technology as the Digital OptiCaliper. This system, Primetals, eliminates dangerous practice manually determining product section using or traditional calipers. The Digital Optical Caliper can precisely measure a variety of long rolling product sections, thereby identifying potential issues during production and promoting safer work practices.

developed portable known cal says the of the wood

can be moved between different locations along the mill. The system is capable of measuring rounds, ovals, flats, and square sections with precision, eliminating the need for mill personnel to approach the rolling line during production. The system replaces the traditional methods of woodburning or physical calipering, which required operators to be near the rolling line during production to measure product sizes.

The Digital Optical Caliper is a portable ‘plugand-play’ gauge designed primarily for use in the roughing and intermediate areas of the mill and

The Digital Optical Caliper features two cameras, a tablet computer, and a portable supporting frame. The cameras mounted on the portable frame are used for measuring the height and width of the product providing real-time and repeatable readings. The integrated computer processes the images from the camera using proprietary software that detects and defines the product dimensions. According to Primetals, the dimensions of meas-

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urement are guaranteed to be within plus/minus 0.1 millimetres, although even greater accuracy was attained during production trials. Designed for portability, the Digital Optical Caliper clicks into pre-installed mounting base plates and can be moved between multiple locations along the mill. This allows the operators to maintain a secure distance from the steel product during rolling, and also reduces the time required to prove set-up and attain consistent rolling parameters. The unit is designed to achieve an IP65 protection rating, which is the second highest on the ingress protection scale, and can, therefore, operate efficiently in any mill environment. The measurement data collected during production aims to enhance the troubleshooting process and aids in the process of identifying issues such as roll wear and furnace soaking problems, including cold spots. For further information, log on to www.primetals.com

Digital Edition - December 2023

16 INNOVATIONS

KOCKS RSB rolls first bar at Henan Jiyuan Iron & Steel in China Chinese steel producer Henan Jiyuan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. has successfully rolled the first bar on its new Reducing & Sizing Block RSB® 500++/4 in 5.0 design after a smooth erection and commissioning period. The Chinese steel producer, based in Jiyuan City, Henan Province, China, is known for its production of special bar quality steel products (SBQ) and is a significant player in the Chinese steel industry. Its steel products are used in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing and automotive. The KOCKS block now in operation is

Digital Edition - December 2023

the third one at Jiyuan, following previous orders for an RSB® 370++/4 in 2008 and an RSB® 300++/4 in 2019. The KOCKS RSB® 500++/4 has been installed in the big bar mill line of the Chinese company as part of a revamping project and produces straight bars within a dimension of Ø 50.0mm to 160.0 mm onto the cooling bed. It is designed to allow thermomechanical rolling to significantly improve the material properties already during the rolling process. This biggest Reducing & Sizing Block features

the remote-controlled roll gap adjustment (RC) and equipment for the roll shop, including the BAMICON Octopus software and hardware that assists operators in the stand and guide preparation and supports the entire tooling process in the roll shop. The block is the first of this size to feature the further advanced RSB® design presented by KOCKS at this year’s METEC.

For further information, log on to www.kocks.de

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INNOVATIONS

World’s first commercial CO2 detector in orbit The first sensor able to pin-point carbon dioxide emissions from individual industrial facilities, such as power plants or cement works, is in space, following a successful launch in early November. GHGSat C10, known as Vanguard, is the precursor to a new generation of space-based instruments that build on GHGSat’s experience with methane emissions and will provide independent CO2 data from individual sites. Vanguard can hone in on individual targets and accurately attribute emissions. According to GHGSat, for the first time,

operators of steel mills, cement works, power plants and petrochemical complexes will have access to independent, accurate and globally standardised emissions data. Although many will have Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) in place, independent verification can help them optimize day-to-day operations and reduce emissions. It will also improve the quality of Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) reporting. Stephane Germain, CEO at GHGSat, said, “Our high-resolution satellites helped put methane – a greenhouse gas that was out of

sight and out of mind – top of the climate agenda. Now our goal now is to harness this experience and change the conversation around CO2. With regulators, investors and the public increasingly holding companies to account, for both their direct and indirect emissions, there is little doubt that better CO2 data is needed. Trusted, independent data will help incentivize industry to manage its emissions effectively. It will ensure that climate policies are well-founded. Above all, it will help all of us stay on track to achieve Net Zero by 2050.”

New oil monitoring kit from Tan Delta Systems Tan Delta Systems, a manufacturer of real-time oil quality monitoring sensors and systems, has launched SENSE-2, a new oil condition monitoring kit. The kit provides real-time data on machine oil quality, which Tan Delta Systems claims optimises maintenance and reduces operating costs. The SENSE-2 is plug-and-play and identifies when oil reaches the end of its life, superseding traditional time-based maintenance schedules which can result in oil being discarded prematurely – with the potential of wasting up to 50% of its useful life. For the manufacturing and lubrication indus-

Digital Edition - December 2023

tries, SENSE-2’s ability to extend maintenance intervals by monitoring equipment condition in real-time, results in answering the actual equipment needs rather than maintenance being driven by time-based scheduling. This, says Tan Delta Systems, in conjunction with reducing the business’s carbon footprint, will help support sustainability goals by reducing oil consumption by approximately 30% per year, as well as reducing parts consumption and extending equipment life. Chris Greenwood, CEO at Tan Delta Systems commented: “Our SENSE-2 real-time monitoring utilises our world-leading sensor technology and associated analytics to detect any issues before

the damage occurs, identifying subtle changes in equipment condition early. It can be fitted easily and efficiently to any existing equipment in any application and is configurable to any oil type. Although oil analysis is not new, traditional lab sampling is expensive and impractical with other sensors focusing on specific parameters while missing others. Our system ensures the industry has access to superior quality information in an easy-to-use format, preventing excessive wear of components resulting in increased productivity and reduced machine downtime and maintenance costs.” The OQSx-G2 oil quality sensor within the

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INNOVATIONS

For further information, log on to www.ghgsat.com.

SENSE-2 kit is also available as a mobile oil tester (MOT) kit, created with workshops and mobile maintenance teams in mind. Any oil from any equipment can be sampled and tested on-site in seconds. The sensor is used in conjunction with the MOT software, which operates on any Windows-based laptop, tablet or PC. Users install the MOT app, connect it to the sensor, collect the sample in one of the bottles provided and follow the steps in the software to test the sample.

For further information, log on to www.tandeltasystems.com

www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - December 2023

INNOVATIONS SPECIAL

ABB upgrades arc furnace breaker Finkl Steel® has resolved long-standing production and maintenance issues at its Canadian facility in Sorel, Quebec, since switching up to global plant supplier ABB’s VD4-AF1 vacuum arc furnace circuit breaker. As the world’s leading supplier of forging die, plastic mold and die casting tool steels, processing over 200kt of steel each year – they also have US facilities in Chicago, Detroit and Houston – Finkl Steel® was keen to address disruptive quarterly maintenance cycles and annual reconditioning of their circuit breakers that slowed production and tied up resources. When two of their four circuit breakers reached the end of their shelf life, it made financial sense to upgrade their electrical cabinet with one specialized VD4-AF1 arc furnace breaker, which, according to ABB, has greater longevity and endurance, lowers maintenance costs and brings added technological benefits. Phillipe Tremblay, project engineer at Finkl Steel®, said: “It’s been a very sound investment, as a year in no one has touched it. The ABB VD4-AF1 is capable of 150,000 operations and as we’ll probably have it for at least 10 years, that equates to a decade of no maintenance. Before that it was continuous inspections, repairs, rebuilds and all the associated breakages, part costs and hours of downtime. “This new breaker also brings smart technological advancements, as by synchronizing the opening of the poles it ensures that overvoltage is eliminated when it closes. This is also mission critical for us, as overvoltage can damage transformers and other important electrical equipment on the line.” The VD4-AF1 is the first medium-voltage (MV) circuit breaker with servomotors, which enables drive control and eliminates the need for inrush limiting reactors and resistances for applications up to 38kV, leading to cost and space savings. It also, claims ABB, brings 24/7 predictive health indication and accurate synchronization with network voltage to control accuracy and precision of the electrical current passing through the furnace, while reducing the risk of component failure and enhancing safety. Keven Ouellet, ABB’s electrification service field service engineer in Canada, added: “The VD4-AF1 proved to be a timely and targeted solution to Finkl’s particular problems and certainly succeeded in making all-important maintenance time and costs negligible. With the breakers being such a vital part of their production process, they also needed something ultra reliable and consistent, because they previously required a minimum of two spare breakers on hand all the time, just to ensure constant operation of the factory. “VD4-AF1 is an all-in-one component too, meaning equipment previously required to resolve the challenges of the severe steelmaking environment is no longer needed, leading to significant expenditure savings in plants that Digital Edition - December 2023

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INNOVATIONS SPECIAL 21

usually suffer from heavy equipment costs. Additionally, the transient recovery voltage (TRV) is greatly reduced via the TRV measurement element present in the installation. It’s so gratifying to work with a device where you have a real technical advantage over the competition.” For further information, log on to https://global.abb/group/en

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Digital Edition - December 2023

USA UPDATE

Consolidation sparks fear

Ramping numbers of mergers and acquisitions have caused concern in the US steel industry, with their potential to lead to a slack in competition, and a ‘monopoly situation’. By Manik Mehta* EXPERTS with ears to the ground were not surprised some months ago when rumours surfaced in industry circles that one of America’s leading steel companies was up for grabs, raising the phantom of consolidation that makes steel consuming industries cringe. While consolidation in other industries was rampant in 2021, many major steel consuming companies know what consolidation in the steel industry would mean for their heavy dependence on steel for their end products. One of the studies compiled on consolidation in various industries suggests that merger and acquisition (M&A) activities amounted to $2.4 trillion in 2021, the highest M&A level for over four decades. For some industries and companies, the M&A process may be a life-saving route; however, such a development, if it slips through meticulous scrutiny, can lead to an unhealthy slack in competition and create a monopoly situation in which the new and massively inflated player can dictate higher prices with little or no competition to challenge the price diktat. The steel industry is also caught in the

consolidation quagmire. US Steel, once considered one of the steel industry’s priceless jewels, is being eyed for acquisition. Consolidation in the steel industry is not a new or recent phenomenon, as this has been an ongoing process for some years. There are, however, also fears being expressed about a new wave of consolidation and its impact on steel prices, leading to spiralling of costs of the end products. Inflation, already affecting American consumers, will get a further boost. The trigger for mass steel consumption was provided by the Federal Government announcement of funding for new infrastructure projects, including bridges and roads, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and also the Inflation Reduction Act. These are huge projects that require massive quantities of steel. However, such funds can be claimed only if the projects use domestically produced steel. Since domestically produced steel is more expensive than imported steel, the requirement of using domestic steel would, invariably, mean further price

increases. The logical conclusion is that if US Steel did fall to an acquisition bid – ClevelandCliffs is said to be a major bidder although there are also other interested buyers – the authorities would have to take precautions to ensure that a healthy and competitive domestic steel supply is maintained. Then there will also be job losses, with a heavy concentration of work at the discretionary power of the buyer taking over the company succumbing to the takeover bid. The steel industry already saw a 35% decline in jobs between 2000 and 2016. If Cleveland Cliffs did acquire US Steel, it would create a single gargantuan steel company in Gary, Indiana. The authorities are expected to look at US Steel’s acquisition from the perspective of national security, competition, or job losses. US Steel has over decades built up a strong supply chain base for steelconsuming industries such as automotive and defence. The company’s acquisition by a rival steel company would create, many fear, a huge conglomerate that could seriously impact steel prices, and harm consumer interests and jobs.

*US correspondent, Steel Times International Digital Edition - December 2023

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USA UPDATE

Consumer industries call for healthy competition in the steel industry to avoid higher prices and job losses, besides adding to the woes of consumers who already feel the crushing inflationary burden. Critics point out that Cleveland Cliffs, which reportedly has its gaze on US Steel, has been a competitor of the latter and like the latter is also a major supplier to the automotive industry. Consequently, their merger would result in a 100% ownership of iron-ore deposits in the country and an overwhelmingly large chunk – estimated over 50% – of steel sold to the US automotive industry. Then there is also the security factor that is a source of concern to some. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) says that steel plate is used in the bodies and propulsion systems of the naval fleet. The control cables on a wide range of military aircraft, including fighter jets and military transport planes, are made of steel wire rope. Besides, land-based vehicles such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Abrams Tank and the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles use significant quantities of steel. There are over 80,000 workers directly employed by US steel, not to mention a large number of workers indirectly dependent on steel manufacturing and services. These workers fear the acquisition could result in job losses or pay cuts. Meanwhile, the AISI reported, based on the Commerce Department’s latest Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, that import permit applications in October had totalled 2.12Mt (net tons), down 8.5% compared to 2.31Mt (permit tons) in September and a 3% decline from the September final imports totalling 2.18Mt (net tons). Import permit tonnage for finished steel in October amounted to 175Mt, up 11.2% from the final imports total of 1.58Mt in September. During the first 10 months of 2023, including SIMA permits and September final imports, total and finished steel products were 23.9Mt (net tons), down 10% and 14.6% respectively, compared to the same period of 2022. The estimated finished steel import market share in October was 19% and 22% yearto-date. The US General Services Administration (GSA) announced an investment sum of $388 million in steel products for use in major construction projects, tentatively www.steeltimesint.com

Lourenco Goncalves, chairman and CEO, Cleveland Cliffs

selected for funding under the Inflation Reduction Act. The President of the Steel Manufacturers’ Association, Philip K. Bell, said that while steel manufacturers are concerned, in (the) announcement the GSA referenced ‘lessons learned’ from the Buy Clean pilot

programme it initiated in May. GSA launched the Buy Clean low-carbon construction materials pilot programme that advocated for a bifurcated scale to measure carbon intensity, over the objections of the SMA, nearly a year ago. It uses an unfair and counterproductive dual standard, says the SMA, to favour steel produced by high-emitting, fossilfuel-intensive processes over steel made from recycled materials and low-emitting production processes. Bell said that the pilot programme, as designed, attempted to validate ways that steelmakers who rely heavily on extractive raw materials such as coal, coking coal and iron, can call their steel clean. Buying that steel for federally funded construction projects increases harmful carbon emissions and should not be considered buying clean. This also hurt American steelmakers who invested billions in clean steelmaking technology. � Digital Edition - December 2023

LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Brazilian steel’s co-products and wastes The World Steel Association’s annual sustainability report provides detailed data on the generation and utilisation of co-products and wastes, and highlights the importance of corporate transparency. By Germano Mendes de Paula* IN November 2023, worldsteel released its traditional annual sustainability report. It comprised of eight important indexes: a) CO2 emissions intensity; b) energy intensity; c) material intensity; d) environmental management system; e) lost time injury frequency rate; f) employee training; g) investment in new processes and products; and h) economic value distributed. The material efficiency index refers to the proportion of materials converted to solid and liquid products and co-products, while process gases are not included. Its global figures improved from 96.33% in 2018 to 97.86% in 2020, but declined slightly to 97.65% in 2022 (Graph 1). This might suggest that the industry is close to achieving its maximum reachable performance. It should be stressed that the steel industry produces more than 20 different co-products. The most important is slag (generated by blast furnace, BOF and EAF)

that can be employed to make a large range of products, including cement, fertilisers, and roadstone. According to worldsteel, on a global basis, there is the following ratio: 69% steel products, 28% co-products and 3% waste. Therefore, the volume of coproducts is massive in the sector. Brazilian performance The Brazil Steel Institute also released its biannual sustainability report in November 2023. It provides an in-depth analysis of the industry about various issues, but this article pays attention only to co-products and wastes performance. In 2018, the associated companies were responsible for 98% of the country’s crude steel production. In fact, only Simec was not included in the sample. In 2019, as a consequence of CSN’s decision to leave the association, the ratio decreased to 89%. The following relative importance was equivalent to 85% in 2020, 86% in 2021 and 84% in 2022. Thus, the data is representative of the Brazilian steel industry as a whole.

Graph 2 shows the specific generation of co-products and wastes (kg/t crude steel) throughout the period 2018-2022. It can be observed that it increased marginally from 619kg/t in 2018 to 622kg/t in 2020 and even to 628kg/t in 2022. Table 1 demonstrates various figures in percentage terms, which will be analysed in the following paragraphs. Regarding the disposal of co-products and wastes, the average during the 20182020 period was 94%, but this value improved to 97% in 2021 and even to 104%, which means that previous inventory was reutilised. It can be also verified that the inventory amplified by 1% in 2018 and 2% in 2019-2020, but dropped by 4% in 2021 and by 10% in 2022. More importantly, the final value was around the 5% plateau mark along the examined years. A second set of data in Table 1 examines the generation of co-products and wastes by type. The blast furnace aggregates represented roughly 40% in the period 2018-2021, but faced an involution to 34% as of 2022. Steelshop aggregates were

* Professor in Economics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. E-mail: germano@ufu.br www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - December 2023

26 LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Graph 1. The global steel industry’s material efficiency, 2018-2022 (%). Source worldsteel

Graph 2. The Brazilian steel industry’s specific generaion of co-products and wastes, 20182022 (kg/t crude steel). Source: Brazil Steel Institute

relatively flat at around the 27% mark in the last five years, while the same trend was detected regarding sludges, with a 5% share. Fines and powders, after maintaining a 6% participation in the four initial years, gained traction to 13% in 2022. The remaining co-products and wastes oscillated around the 22% level. The destination of blast furnace aggregates, which is the largest of coproducts generated by the Brazilian steel industry, is predominantly directed to sale: 91% in 2018 and 97% in 2022. Obviously, the cement industry is the largest consumer sector. Meanwhile, the passive inventory plummeted from 8% to 2%, whereas the reuse maintained its 1% slice. Concerning the destination of steelshop aggregates and other wastes, the situation is more diverse. It is remarkable that donations increased from 21% in 2018 to 37% in 2019 and even 51%, while the passive inventory decreased from 23% in 2018 to 3%. It seems that the steel companies prefer to donate rather than accumulate passive inventory, at a cost. The last set of data refers to the application of aggregates from the steelshop and other wastes. The most important use deals with road base and sub-base (76% in 2022), followed by land levelling (3%), agronomic use and cement production (2% each), while the remaining utilisation reached 19%. In summary, the Brazil Steel Institute’s sustainability report provides very detailed data on the generation and utilisation of co-products and wastes, by type. Not only are the figures interesting to look at and follow, they also highlight that transparency is crucial to sustainability. �

Disposal of co-products and wastes Reuse Inventory change Final disposition

2018 95% 1% 4%

2019 94% 2% 4%

2020 93% 2% 5%

2021 97% -4% 7%

2022 104% -10% 6%

Generation of co-products and wastes by type Blast furnace aggregates Steelshop aggregates Fines and powders Sludges Other co-products and wastes

2018 40% 27% 7% 6% 20%

2019 39% 25% 6% 4% 26%

2020 40% 25% 6% 4% 25%

2021 40% 28% 6% 5% 21%

2022 34% 28% 13% 6% 19%

Destination of blast furnace aggregates Sale Passive inventory Reuse

2018 91% 8% 1%

2019 87% 12% 1%

2020 94% 4% 2%

2021 95% 3% 1%

2022 97% 2% 1%

Destination of steelshop aggregates and other wastes Sale Internal reuse Donation Passive inventory Final disposition

2018 28% 26% 21% 23% 2%

2019 25% 22% 37% 14% 2%

2020 23% 13% 27% 36% 1%

2021 22% 13% 45% 17% 2%

2022 26% 20% 51% 3% 1%

Application of aggregates from steelshop and other wastes Road base and sub-base Land leveling Agronomic use Concrete aggregates Cement production Others

2018 44% 39% 4% 1%

2019 71% 16% 3% 1%

2020 78% 8% 3% 1%

12%

10%

11%

2021 60% 9% 2% 1% 3% 25%

2022 76% 3% 2% 0% 2% 19%

Table 1. Brazil steel’s co-products and wastes performance, 2018-2022 (%). Source: Brazil Steel Institute.

Digital Edition - December 2023

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20/09/2023 11:51

INDIA UPDATE

JSW targets production growth

Sajjan-Jindal, India’s largest private-sector steel producer and the ﬂagship company of the $23 billion JSW Group, JSW Steel Ltd, is planning to set up an additional capacity of 20Mt/yr to capture the ongoing robust growth from the Indian infrastructure sector. As part of this plan, the company intends to initiate new projects and finish those that have been stalled. By Dilip Kumar Jha* CURRENTLY, JSW has a cumulative crude steel production capacity of 29.7Mt/yr in both India and the United States of America (USA), with 27.7Mt/yr of output facility located in India and the remaining 2Mt/yr in the USA. Through ongoing expansions via both brownfield and greenfield routes, the company’s total crude steel production capacity will increase to 37Mt/yr by the end of 2024-25, and further to 50Mt/yr by the financial year 2030-31. JSW Steel’s manufacturing unit in Vijayanagar, in the southern Indian state

of Karnataka, stands as the largest singlelocation steel producer in India, boasting a current capacity of 12.5Mt/yr. As one of India’s leading business houses, the JSW Group also has interests in energy, infrastructure, cement, paints, sports, and venture capital. The company reported 90% capacity utilization during the financial year 2022-23 but experienced volatility during the period from April to September 2023. Jayant Acharya, the joint managing director and chief executive officer of JSW Steel stated, “We will continue our

expansion plans, with an overall capacity estimated to reach 50Mt/yr by 2030. JSW Steel’s steel production will increase to 35Mt/yr by 2023-24 and further to 37Mt/yr by the financial year 202425 through debottlenecking. We will simultaneously commence work on the next phase. The cash ﬂow generated from the expanded capacity will be utilized as capital expenditure (capex) for the proposed new projects, which will come at a low investment cost, primarily from the brownfield segment. While we plan to

*India correspondent, Steel Times International Digital Edition - December 2023

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INDIA UPDATE

JSW’s consolidated steel production (Mt/yr) Financial year (April-March)

Crude steel

Saleable steel

2022-23

24.16

22.39

2021-22

19.51

18.18

2020-21

15.15

15.08

2019-20

16.06

14.90

2018-19

16.69

15.60

Source: JSW Steel Ltd

JSW Steel half-yearly crude steel production (Mt) Particulars

Apr-Sept‘23

Apr-Sept‘22

YoY (%)

Indian operations

12.38

11.19

JSW Steel USA-Ohio

0.38

0.24

Consolidated production

12.76

11.43

Source: JSW Steel Ltd

India’s steel output projections (Mt/yr) Parameters Status by 2030-31 Total crude steel capacity

300

Total crude steel demand/production

255

Total finished steel demand/production

230

Sponge iron demand/production

Pig iron demand/production

Per capita finished steel consumption (kgs)

158

Source: Ministry of Steel, Government of India

Status of steel industry in India (Mt) Financial year (April-March)

Crude steel production

Finished steel production

Consumption

2022-23

125.32

121.29

119.17

2021-22

120.29

113.60

105.75

2020-21

103.54

96.20

94.89

2019-20

109.14

102.62

100.17

2018-19

110.92

101.29

98.71

Source: Ministry of Steel, Government of India

complete these expansion projects by 2030, we believe they will be completed much earlier than that.”

Image credits:worldsteel

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Over 7.5% production growth in ﬁve years In line with India’s crude steel demand, JSW Steel has made significant progress over the last five years. Consolidated crude steel output has witnessed a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.68%, increasing from 16.69Mt/yr in the financial year 2018-19 to 24.16Mt/yr in the financial year 2022-23. Similarly, consolidated saleable steel sales have also risen from 15.60Mt/yr in 2018-19 to 22.39Mt/ yr in 2022-23, demonstrating a CAGR of 7.49% over the past five years. In the previous financial year, JSW Steel’s crude and saleable steel production increased by 23.83% and 23.16%, respectively. India’s population growth and

economic development necessitate improved transport infrastructure, including investments in roads, railways, aviation, shipping, and inland waterways. Recognizing the need for growth, India has increased its capital expenditure (capex) on infrastructure by 33% to INR 100,000 billion in the Union Budget for 2023-24. This accounts for 3.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is nearly three times the outlay in the financial year 2019-20. Demand upsurge will beneﬁt JSW Acharya expects India’s growing GDP to extensively benefit JSW Steel, as the Indian government would be prompted to allocate additional funds for infrastructure growth, resulting in renewed demand for steel. The relationship between India’s GDP and steel demand is expected to remain strong until 2030. In the past, steel demand in Japan Digital Edition - December 2023

30 INDIA UPDATE

grew phenomenally, with a 14% CAGR from 1955 to 1975; in Korea, it was 13% between 1975 and 1995, and in China it reached 11% between 2000 and 2020. The industrial revolutions triggered steel demand in these countries in the horizon of 20 years. “A similar story will play out in India. With its GDP projected to grow by 6.5% in this decade, we anticipate that steel demand will accelerate by at least 10%. We believe there will be a 10-12Mt incremental steel demand this year, and on a larger base, an additional 12-15Mt will be possible every year thereafter. Indian economic growth will add around 100Mt of additional demand this decade. Considering the capacity additions by both private and public sector steel producers, the demand and supply will be balanced, and there may not be excess steel for exports,” Acharya added. India’s current crude steel production capacity is estimated at around 155Mt/ yr, but it is expected to grow to 230Mt/ yr by 2030. JSW Steel aims to achieve 50Mt/yr of this capacity. To support its raw Digital Edition - December 2023

material requirements, JSW Steel is currently operating nine iron ore mines in the southern Indian state of Karnataka and four in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The company has also won bids for seven more mines that will commence commercial production shortly. Currently, captive mines account for around 40% of JSW Steel’s iron ore requirements. This ratio of captive iron ore will continue until the company achieves 37Mt/yr of crude steel production, which is expected by 2024-25. Acharya said that JSW Steel is planning to bid for more mines to achieve domestic sourcing of 6070%, with the remaining sourced through imports. Green initiative As part of its contribution to the green transition, JSW Steel is working on an ambitious roadmap that includes renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives. The company plans to invest approximately $1.3 billion in green technology and energyefficient practices. JSW Steel aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 42% from its steelmaking operations and achieve a net zero

target at its subsidiary, JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd, by 2030. It proposes to lead the energy transition by powering steelmaking operations entirely by renewable energy by 2030. However, the company has not fixed any deadline to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions. The company’s other sustainability targets include achieving no net loss in biodiversity at the operating sites by 2030, substantially improving air quality, reducing water consumption in all operations, and maintaining zero liquid discharge. Conclusion The company is making bold moves to position itself as a major player in the steel industry, both domestically and globally. With ambitious production targets, sustainable practices, and strategic acquisitions, the company aims to meet the growing steel demand while also contributing to green initiatives. These plans, if successfully implemented, will undoubtedly make JSW Steel a key player in the future landscape of the Indian steel industry. � www.steeltimesint.com

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SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

The recipe for circularity

Steel is a wonderful metal that can be remelted and reused indefinitely. This is something that Alleima, a stainless-steel material producer, has done for over 100 years. Today, more than 80% of its production is recycled in an electric arc furnace that runs almost entirely on fossil-free electricity. Lately, Alleima has embarked upon several collaborations to ensure that it can reuse its customers’ material. Through collaborations, products and solutions enable energy efficiency, greener transportations, and lower CO2 emissions. By Isabelle Kliger*

*Freelance writer Digital Edition - December 2023

www.steeltimesint.com

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

of secondary materials exceeds 80%. “From a sustainability perspective this is very strong, and the best thing is that the material we manufacture in turn helps customers reduce their carbon footprint,” says Håkan Sundström, head of sustainability and governance, at Alleima. Alleima has a relatively low climate footprint from operations due to the use of recycled steel and fossil-free electricity in production facilities. Quality- and materialswise, the recycled steel that Alleima uses, should be as close as possible to that of the finished products. We make sure that all internal scrap is recycled. This means that there are no steel residues from the products themselves. The process after melting the steel, in particular, the hot processing of materials, represents most of the CO2 footprint from our operations. The heating furnaces run on Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) or natural gas, with a small, included mix of biogas. Here there are opportunities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by shifting to fuels with lower carbon impact such as biogas or fossil-free hydrogen, or fossil-free electricity. “We are looking at the possibilities of going in the direction of using hydrogen or electric furnaces. We need to make sure, that a shift of heating fuel doesn’t affect product properties and quality. Sustainability is present in all aspects of our operations and an integral part of our commercial strategy,” says Sundström. Recently, Alleima received a silver medal from EcoVadis, a leading provider of corporate sustainability assessments, for its sustainability performance. The award places Alleima in the 91st percentile, meaning that our result ranks us better than 91% of the companies assessed by EcoVadis “The silver medal is an important quality mark of our efforts,” explains Sundström.

ADVANCED materials, and stainless steel, have been at the heart of research and development at Alleima for 160 years. Combining different materials, creating new alloys and changing the microstructure to enhance performance and efficiency, is on the agenda every day. The materials are lightweight, durable, corrosion-resistant, and able to withstand extremely high temperatures and pressures. In terms of climate impact, Alleima seeks to slash its own already low CO2 emissions in www.steeltimesint.com

half by 2030. Recycled since the 20th century There are two different methods for making steel. One method is by melting iron ore in a blast furnace, a method that emits ‘large amounts of carbon dioxide’. The second method is recycled steelbased manufacturing, where primary and secondary materials, are melted using electricity as the energy source. This is the method Alleima uses today, and the share

Buyback programmes increase circularity Alleima runs buyback programmes both as a service to customers and to further efforts to increase the proportion of recycled materials. The bought-back products are products manufactured by Alleima that have been installed at the customer’s premises for up to 20 years; and when the customer chooses to change to new products, Alleima has the opportunity to buy back the old products. This way it is possible to keep exact track of material Digital Edition - December 2023

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

composition. A great example of this is the buy-back process set up with Welltec and Rimeco. The former, a leading Danish provider of robotic well solutions for the energy industry, uses Alleima high-alloy tubes in the production of its world-leading expandable packer technology. Welltec buys the tubes from Alleima and reworks them to fit the needs of specific applications. This typically results in some scrap being left over. Rimeco is a fifth-generation Danish recycling and waste management company that has been providing recycling services to Alleima since 1981. Its principal activity is the collection, recycling, and operational handling of non-ferrous and ferrous scrap and alloys in Scandinavia. As a partner to Welltec and Alleima, Rimeco has all the necessary agreements in place to allow both companies to trust it to take care of their state-of-the-art materials and proprietary designs. ”This is very effective for us! When we know exactly what product it is, we can optimize when re-melting. We get stainless steel back, but we also help the customer to have their used material removed. The customer, like us, wants to make the process as circular as possible,” says Sundström. Once back with Alleima, the material goes through further studies to establish what kind of new product could be made. Alleima purchasing manager Per-Ragnar Moberg explains: ”When the material comes to us, we carry out an in-depth analysis to find out how much nickel, chromium, manganese, and so on it contains. This allows us to decide how to best re-use it.”

Digital Edition - December 2023

After smelting in the electric arc furnace, the material is further processed in the AOD-converter to reduce carbon and sulfur. The third step in the steel making process is the ladle furnace, where the final adjustments are made to the composition. Certain elements – like nickel, chromium and manganese – are added, to get the recipe just right. Today Alleima produces more than 900 different stainless-steel grades, each of which is made up of a precisely balanced mix of elements, forming a unique ‘recipe’. Transparency and CO2 reduction To further increase transparency, Alleima is implementing Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool to accurately measure and calculate the carbon footprint of advanced materials and products. Customers will be provided with third-party verified and precise data, which supports them on their own journeys to reduce environmental footprints. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an increasingly important methodology to quantify environmental impact and identify hotspots in a product’s life cycle. LCA studies can be used to cover all stages, from raw material extraction to when the product reaches the market. They can provide calculations of the many different types of environmental impacts in product manufacture, including carbon footprint. Materials, and steel, have been at the heart of research and development at Alleima for 160 years. Combining these materials to create new alloys and changing the microstructure to enhance performance and efficiency are on the company’s agenda every day. It is all about material science

and deep customer application knowledge. With more than 900 lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant alloy compositions, Alleima products can be exposed to extremely high temperatures and pressures, they can be more efficient, and ensure a more sustainable process. How, exactly, can technological development in materials science support sustainability? Take the Eiffel Tower, for example. By using the advanced highstrength steels that exist today, you could build four Eiffel Towers with the same amount of material that was used originally. Building lighter constructions mean less material produced and less transportation required to transport that material, factors that lead to reduced CO2 emissions. Stronger steel also means that aircraft and motor vehicles weigh less, which means they consume less energy and produce less CO2 emissions. Four Eiffel Towers instead of one? The secret lies in the material design. Alleima engineers have delved down to the atomic level to design new materials, moving atoms to create new compositions of existing materials to make them lighter and more resilient. Computational modeling shows what kind of new compositions are possible and what would be needed to realize them. “Building lighter constructions means that less material needs to be produced and less transportation is required to transport that material. Both factors lead to reduced CO2 emissions. Stronger steel also means that aircraft and cars weigh less, which in turn means they consume less energy and thus produce less in the way of CO2 emissions”, said Sundström. �

www.steeltimesint.com

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SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

Local scrap: a sustainability enabler for Europe Scrap has the potential to lead the way toward a decarbonized industry, but there are significant challenges to overcome – which will require investment, innovation, and collaboration to reach necessary sustainability targets. By Richard Curry*

SCRAP as a raw material has the benefit of already being (bar a bit of rust) in the reduced state, thus requiring far less energy and high temperature chemical processing than ore. It can be locally sourced at volumes appropriate for steelmaking. This further reduces adverse ecological and environmental contributions by the steelmaking industry imparted by extensive mining and long-distance shipping. In many ways it is almost the perfect solution to decarbonize the industry but falls foul of historical opinion in terms of quality, value, and difficulty to process and use. Taking the UK as an example, of the ~10.2Mt of the yearly arising scrap1, less than 10% is utilised to produce high value steel by Tata, British Steel and Liberty. Over 8Mt is downcycled to produce basic construction steels such as rebar (1Mt through Celsa UK and the remaining, following export, to countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt and others). High levels of deleterious metals such as copper and tin within the scrap are often accepted as an unpreventable issue, with high levels of virgin iron dilution needed to produce strip quality products. In the US, EAF production companies such as Nucor have demonstrated this need for dilution as they focus upon ever higher quality steels. The

ability to offset poor scrap quality with dilution has, to date, detached interest in a parallel move to EAF production for Europe. In a region with the financial burden of a globally uncompetitive natural gas premium, this has left high quality steel producers to focus upon blast furnaces and BOFs. The context In Western European nations, although by definition only 20% of the available scrap is denoted ‘high quality’ by conventional classifications, there is an abundance of high-quality steel within scrap as a whole. With better control of quality, scrap can add far more value in use to steelmaking than is generally understood. This includes many factors in addition to product quality that are out of the scope of this article. As the green steelmaking transition globalises, more pressure will be placed upon the limited availability of DRI-compatible iron ores and alternative reductants such as hydrogen, significantly raising their price and accessibility. Furthermore, for reliable, commercial hydrogen-based ore production through DRI and (in all probability given reducing ore quality) smelting there are significant unresolved technological, financial and energy availability barriers

to overcome. With these facts in mind, should more focus be placed upon scrap in Europe? Overall, in its bulk delivered state, scrap quality is far lower than that required by most of the steelmaking product and process quality standards, especially for formable strip steels. One must look at scrap in terms of the intrinsic (alloyed) and extrinsic (loose carryover) of deleterious elements. Upon simple analysis one can assume that globally, 70% of steel is still produced through the blast furnace with only trace levels of these elements occurring in the hot metal. Due to the use of scrap as a coolant and bulking addition (15-20%), the BOF process delivers only a small amount of intrinsic contamination from the 5-10% of supplied post-consumer scrap material that makes up this cooling addition, with the remainder resulting from plant wastage. The art of the possible The remaining 30% of globally produced steel occurs through the EAF route with high charge rates up to 100%. This generally has far higher levels of contamination due to the carryover of copper wire, coated ferrous metals and highly alloyed engineering steels. Focusing

*SUSTAIN research programme manager, Swansea University. 1. This includes prompt scrap utilised internally and end of life product scrap. Digital Edition - December 2023

www.steeltimesint.com

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

Steel Route

UK Proportion (%)

Intrinsic copper (wt%)

BOF Steel

<0.05

EAF Steel

0.20

0.30

0.40

Total (Mass Balanced)

<0.125

Table 1. Approximate proportion of steel used in UK by manufacturing route and expected copper level

scrap product demonstrated such low contamination, high quality automotive, packaging, and white goods would be attainable at close to 100% for a dry scrap charge by simply recycling them like-forlike, however additional attention would be required to isolate certain coated products to minimise tin and chromium impact. Additionally, one would expect the overall composition of supplied steel scrap to contain over 99% iron, but again in reality it is closer to 90-94% with aluminium, plastics, ceramics, soil, water and small amounts of precious metals and technology critical elements also entering the mix. upon copper, which is the standard focal point within the industry, Table 1 summarises the current UK/European situation. It is fair to assume that the arising scrap follows these same proportions. The worst-case scenario would then follow that copper levels will present a maximum contamination level of 0.125%. However, this is not realistic, given that scrap is less than 50% segregated according to its product source, leading to much higher contamination being measured and reported. The level of copper in particular can be as high as 0.2-0.25 wt% in shredded product. Given our knowledge of the intrinsic potential of the scrap, this contamination must be entering the recycling process due to external carryover of loose copper products (approx. 2kg copper for every tonne of steel scrap). If greater efforts were placed to separate ferrous and non-ferrous at source, levels far closer to 0.05 wt% copper should, therefore, be the expectation for shredded grades such as UK 3B and European E40 due to their source: automotive body, packaging and white goods. This low level of steel contamination would also be true for other potentially detrimental elements such as tin, chromium, nitrogen, and nickel – as the primary requirement of such steel products is high ductility to facilitate the forming process. If the supplied www.steeltimesint.com

Barriers to change The observed mismatch between the quality of delivered scrap and product requirements, particularly for high quality formable steels, occurs for several reasons: the first is the historical association of scrap as a coolant and the guarantee of quality from virgin ore. This has led to poor demand for, and utilisation of, high quality scrap by premium steel producing companies. This in turn places the scrap supply and processing chain under tight margins that have precluded investment in quality improvement. This preconception has also precluded steelmakers from investing in their own internal processing, blending, and quality control systems for scrap handling and usage, even when such systems are employed rigorously by these producers for other bulk raw materials such as iron ore and coal. A second reason is the sheer volume of available scrap and the consistent highvolume supply demanded by the steel industry. Without an ordered, segregated supply chain it becomes very difficult to prevent mixing of product types and almost impossible to retroactively segregate mixed alloys once they are merged in the supply chain. Recent efforts to provide real time on-line chemical analysis of the scrap using XRF, LIBS and PGNAA has proven inefficient due to the speed of analysis against required volume throughput, even without

the difficulties of then removing out-of-spec steel alloys and non-ferrous pieces from the conveyer. Fortunately, the bulk of steel scrap is from the virgin ore route and also contains low levels of alloying elements. Another, and potentially the most important factor is the current level of effort placed into the shredding or fragmentising of end-of-life products. Of the many processing techniques for scrap, this is the only one that is designed to decontaminate the raw material from others in end-of-life products. The strengths and, therefore, the ubiquity of steel has led to its use in many diverse applications. It is often used alongside many other materials as is easily demonstrated in practically all consumer goods: automobiles, domestic products, etc. The majority of supplied scrap has been under-processed in this regard, with the shredding process not being performed to a piece sizing that allows the liberation of steel from these materials. Simply reducing the shredded piece size to an appropriate level will provide significant benefits. Reducing the carryover of non-ferrous elements during magnetic separation thus reduces contamination. Further, nonmetals which will cause charge bulking, productivity losses, and unnecessary waste of steelmaking process materials (requirement of additional slag), and energy and toxic fume generation in the EAF can also be reduced. Potential solutions Ultimately these issues can be resolved with relatively small investment and supply chain intervention when compared to the alternative. Hydrogen steelmaking currently falls into a lower TRL bracket (let us not forget that the EAF was commercialised ~50 years before the BOF), with the European Steel Industry looking to invest trillions of euros into decarbonizing ore-based steelmaking. In comparison, the intelligent utilisation of scrap would require a much lower investment of €10 – €100 million using existing commercial processing equipment with some intuitive Digital Edition - December 2023

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

improvement steps and greater supply chain quality control and alignment. Europe’s reliance on virgin ore-based steelmaking to date has placed it in a strong position with regard to overall quality of arising scrap we should expect in the coming years. As long as the scrap supply chain and processing issues are solved, embedded contamination as found in the US, where the local split between virgin ore and EAF production is reversed, will not present the further challenge of borderline intrinsic copper levels complicating the transition. In the US, large EAF companies have made vast improvements in scrap post-processing with commercially supplied equipment but even with the purchase of their own large scrap yards, the segregation problems associated with the scrap supply chain have not been fully resolved. With ownership level control of the supplying scrap yards and processing equipment like the Shred 1, copper levels of 0.18 max have been demonstrated2. Recent trials at Swansea University (2022: part of the Welsh Government funded FlexisAPP iSPACE and EPSRC SUSTAIN Future Manufacturing Hub projects), have shown encouraging preliminary findings that 70 - 85% of UK 3B shredded scrap is of high enough quality (copper < 0.05, with other elements falling well below maximum allowable values for strip production) to directly recycle as strip at ~100% scrap

charge. The range in low copper steel is believed to be due to variability in supplier shredder feed mixes and could be significantly improved by focus upon maximising liberation and scrap supply chain segregation and control. Further shredding, liberation, and processing of this material could easily access a further quantity of low copper (< 0.1%) that could be used for the manufacture of the majority of steel products. The remaining material could also provide valuable, high quality non-ferrous metals for resale to other industries and steels high in copper to reduce the cost of virgin additions for engineering and stainless steel manufacture. The final barrier to 100% scrap EAF production is the provision of low nitrogen steel production. Typical nitrogen levels in shredded and low residual scrap is 20ppm whereas this can be as high as 50ppm for HMS1&2 grades due to the presence of product from older steelmaking processes and EAF-produced steels. Again, segregation and selection of recycled steels from an appropriate source will minimise carry-over. Given that shredded, low copper scrap, by nature of its usage, already contains nitrogen at the appropriate levels, focus then needs to be placed upon minimising nitrogen ingress during the process itself. General EAF production can introduce nitrogen into the steel before the

protective slag covering has fully formed due to entrainment of air into the melt and is believed to be increased further by ionisation of the nitrogen by the furnace electrodes. Careful environmental control and injection of small quantities of DRI fines or carbon containing Fe revert pellets (< 6% wt%) have shown to reduce nitrogen levels to well within the tolerance of strip production3. A recent Innovate UK Project has shown that nitrogen levels of <<45ppm can be obtained from trials on a 7-ton EAF using novel high iron/20% carbon pellet design, with levels as low as 15ppm reported4. This article has outlined the financial and technical benefits of focusing upon scrap as a primary source for a future decarbonized steel industry. Compared to other suggested methods, a focus on improving scrap quality should provide a lower cost, higher speed solution to the transition given its relatively high TRL status and the observed high quality and abundance of scrap, particularly in the UK and Europe. There are, however, significant challenges to overcome, including tackling a complex established supply chain and the need for further innovation and investment to guarantee provision of scrap at the required quality and volume. Scrap-intensive steelmaking is unambiguously lower energy, and there are significant uncertainties in the provision of zero carbon energy sources (green hydrogen, green electricity etc). This must be balanced against heterogenous global scrap availability making the green transition harder in developing countries. This difficulty will be exaggerated by CBAM, as imports from those harder-todecarbonize regions will become uncompetitive in the long run. This means that developed economies must concentrate both on scrap intensive production and steel demand reduction (re-use – remanufacture and repair) in their own regions to ensure a globally just transition to green steel. � The SUSTAIN project aims to deliver cutting edge science and the engineering research required to create carbon neutral, resource-efficient UK steel supply chains.

2. Eriez touts the success of its Shred1 ballistic separators – Recycling Today, 2022 3. High Temperature Processing Symposium, G Brooks et al. 2012. Swinburne University of Technology 4. Innovate UK Final Report, ISCF Transforming Foundation Industries: Building a Resilient Recovery. Novel EAF Composite Feedstock. Binding Solutions. Innovate UK Ref: 98184 2022 Digital Edition - December 2023

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Scrap metal: too good to waste Extraordinary demand growth for energy transition metals combined with decarbonization goals and elevated energy security concerns will underpin significant investment in scrap. By Nick Pickens*

*Research director, global mining, Wood Mackenzie

Digital Edition - December 2023

www.steeltimesint.com

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

INVESTORS need to ready themselves for the scrap revolution. A combination of extraordinary growth in demand for metals, the need to reduce industrial emissions and elevated energy security concerns will all underpin a prolonged surge in investment in recycled metal. The opportunities are boundless. It won’t be for the faint-hearted, however. Scrap markets can be complex, disjointed, and opaque – and that’s just the mature markets, for metals such as steel, copper, aluminium, and lead. Scrap markets for energy transition metals from battery, electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy are just emerging, offering abundant growth potential, but with a healthy dose of technological risk. Policy stimulation The structure of scrap markets will also evolve. Policy will stimulate higher domestic processing and consumption and the international trade of low-value waste will dwindle. We expect vertical integration up and down the value chain in key growth markets as manufacturers seek supply security. And as demand for greener sources of metal units burgeons, this will be reflected in pricing. What’s driving scrap use? Woodmac’s report, Scrap: an opportunity too good to waste, explores what’s driving scrap use, some common elements of current secondary markets and how scrap markets might develop over time. What’s driving the renewed focus on scrap metals? We see three main catalysts: • The need to overcome primary metal supply constraints The energy transition will be built on electrification and the supply of zero-carbon fuels and feedstocks. The transformation of the power and transport sections – key pillars of the change – will rely on technologies that are profoundly metalsintensive. The reuse of metals through recycling will help alleviate the effects of primary supply constraints and accelerate the energy transition. • Carbon emissions, sustainability, and a preference for secondary sources The mining and processing of metals is a significant source of emissions – steel www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - December 2023

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

low-carbon domestic supply. The biggest impetus is in regions that are short on raw materials and long on requirements. Policies designed to ‘onshore’ the supply of scrap and disincentivise exports are becoming ever more frequent, notably in the shape of tighter quality standards and import restrictions. 2. Vertical integration and consolidation: closing the loop The shift towards circularity is driving investments in scrap metal recycling infrastructure and encouraging collaboration between stakeholders along the value chain. It presents opportunities for new business models and innovative approaches to recycling and manufacturing. In nascent markets such as EV lithium-ion batteries, there is a blank canvas in terms of market development. 3. Tighter scrap supply Demand for secondary feed and the buildout of new scrap processing capability could also mean tighter scrap supply, unless recycling rates and utilisation improve. Legislation on minimum recycled content, meanwhile, will spur demand for highergrade material, in particular. The future landscape will be shaped by how quickly and efficiently the rising pool of scrap can be mobilised via collection, sorting, and processing into end-use products.

and aluminium combined account for almost 10% of the global total. Secondary aluminium production typically has a carbon footprint five to 25 times lower than primary production. For steel, emissions are often halved by using scrap. What’s more, recycling also keeps reusable materials out of landfill. • Security of metal supply The war in Ukraine has shone a light on the potential leverage of countries that control natural resources. Global reliance on China for minerals critical to the energy transition has become a major concern in the US and EU, among other places. The use of domestic recycled metal could help Digital Edition - December 2023

to reduce reliance on imports or single sources. The shift towards circularity is driving investments in scrap metal recycling infrastructure and encouraging collaboration between stakeholders along the value chain. What does this all mean for scrap? We see five key trends shaping the market right now: 1. Reshoring of scrap metal supply chains Regulations will limit the global trade of scrap and incentivise domestic consumption. Governments are already seeing scrap as a strategic source of

4. A revolution in recycling technology Advancements in recycling technologies are enhancing the efficiency and quality of scrap metal processing. Innovations in sensing, sorting and separation techniques are already enabling better recovery rates and reducing waste for end-of-life products. Digitalisation and data analytics are also playing a significant role in optimising operations and improving material tracking in the scrap metal value chain. There is a lot more to come. 5. Disrupted pricing mechanisms Global pricing mechanisms for scrap are like many other differentiated commodities. Price discovery is generally via price reporting agencies. The London Metal Exchange does have a steel scrap futures market, but none of the mechanisms are particularly transparent, and there are opportunities here for traders and market participants. � www.steeltimesint.com

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT: PROFILE

From trash to treasure

Having recently been valued at close to $60 billion, the scrap metal industry is going from strength to strength in an increasingly sustainability- focused world. Catherine Hill* spoke to Danny Meeks** and Isaac Dietrich*** about scrap’s hot topics, challenges, and misconceptions. DANNY Meeks is a self-made man. Starting his first business at the age of 18 with a single hauling truck, he expanded the business to over 100 trucks, providing services for some of the area’s most influential projects – including the $100 million federal subcontract for the clean-up of New Orleans. He’s also firmly planted in local politics; having served as Portsmouth, Virginia’s city councilman, and campaigned in the mayoral election. Meeks represents the selfreliance and entrepreneurial spirit of Gen-X

Americans, the faith in institutional primacy, the belief in the country with a capitalised A. Most days, he wakes up at 3am, which he says is to provide for his family, his employees, and his growing business. Where it all began Meeks first ‘got into scrapping’, about 20 years ago, when following a clean-up job taken on by his trash business, he found himself asking what to do with the leftover metals. Various friends explained the scrap business to him and dissected ‘how to

identify the metals…how to break them down’. This set the foundation for Empire Services, which alongside his partners, he expanded from one scrapyard to 11. Then, in 2012, Meeks ran for office, reaching out to the then local Conservative figure Jason Miyares for advice, who now holds the position of attorney general for the state of Virginia. Miyares, who has referred to himself as Virginia’s ‘top cop’ and ‘the town sheriff’ given his beliefs regarding law enforcement, proved to be a useful source of information for Meeks, as he introduced

*Assistant Editor, Steel Times International **Chief executive officer, Greenwave Technology Solutions ***Chief financial officer, Greenwave Technology Solutions www.steeltimesint.com

Digital Edition - December 2023

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT: PROFILE

Isaac Dietrich, then a 17-year-old high school senior, who Meeks described as the ‘smartest kid I ever met’. ‘‘The sky’s the limit’’, Meeks said to Dietrich; ‘‘what are you going to do?’’ Dietrich replied, ‘‘I’m going to be a millionaire before I’m 20.’’ True (enough) to his word, Dietrich founded MassRoots, a self-described social network for the Cannabis community, which after a few years of seed rounds, reached close to a million users. Meeks, meanwhile, watched Dietrich’s success quietly from a distance, as the college start-up founded from a ‘smoke session in a college apartment’ grew to a publicly traded company. Meeks called Dietrich up when Empire had hit its 11-yard mark– ‘‘Let’s do an experiment’’, he said. ‘‘Let’s take the stuff that you built with MassRoots and let’s see if we can implement it into what I do. We did one yard, and it was successful. We did another yard, and it was successful – and it increased our sales about 18 to 20%.’’ Eventually, Meeks decided to sell his company to Dietrich for stock, allowing him to fully implement the technology first used in MassRoots into the scrapyards. A driving force behind the duo was their goal to be ‘on the Nasdaq’, and with Dietrich’s ‘knowledge of the public world’, and Meeks ‘knowing the private side’, it took the company just 11 months to become one of the fastest uplifts on the site. There were some ‘growing pains’ that accompanied the rapid technological transition, as well as the liquidation of several partners, but once the pair found their feet, the business went from strength to strength. Making scrap digital An example of Meeks’ and Dietrich’s collaborative efforts is the aptly named Scrap App, which Dietrich told me aims to tackle the ‘technology talent gap’ in the scrap metal industry; ‘there’s not a lot of it because it’s not the sexiest of industries, and it’s still being run the way it was in the 1990s.’ Scrap App, Dietrich said, aims to improve efficiencies, enhance communications with customers, and make businesses operate in an optimal fashion by vertically integrating car buying, ‘eliminating the middleman’, which in turn allows the company to offer consumers a higher price. Dietrich believes that the Scrap App has the potential to be scaled into the tens of millions of dollars in revenue, and to Digital Edition - December 2023

Danny Meeks

become a major player in the entire multibillion scrap middle market. Another recent addition to the Greenwave family is an automotive shredder, which utilizes a copper extraction system to recover and separate out copper from the rest of the shred residue, turning a former waste product into metals, and another revenue stream for the company. According to Dietrich, Greenwave is one of the only companies within a radius of 200 miles with the system, and he referred to a recent Goldman Sachs report naming copper as the ‘new oil’, making its successful extraction hold a lucrative importance in the present and near future. Challenges in the market When asked about any current market

stressors, Meeks referenced the current geopolitical situation putting strain on exports, as well as current US tariffs costing the consumer more money. However, he remains optimistic; ‘this is a recessionproof industry. Anytime war happens, guess what? Go look at the stock of the people that make bullets and stuff. It goes through the roof.’ When pressed to expand, Meeks continued; ‘‘You’re on one side of the world and I’m on the other side of the world right? We have a lot of the same characteristics and we’ve never even met. You work hard. So what do you do? You reward yourself. It might be a trinket. It might be a hairdo. It might be getting your nails done, your toenails done, a new blouse, a new dress, a new pair of shoes. How does that get there? Trucks, ships, www.steeltimesint.com

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT: PROFILE

airplanes. And they’re all made out of metal, and they’ve got expiration dates. They don’t last for so long and we have to reproduce. It don’t matter where you’re at, what part of the world, metal is always going to be here.’’ What about climate change? Isn’t that a challenge for companies to adapt to? ‘‘We had one guy, Al Gore, who was trying to become president. He brought up climate change, and guess what? We wasted more money on climate change. I’m not saying things aren’t changing because the world changes. But we’re instant gratification people’’. Meeks added that he was ‘not talking about [a] dictatorship’, just saying that ‘in the free world, you have the money, you have the ability, you go and get it. He www.steeltimesint.com

returned to his initial statement of working for his ‘four girls’, keeping them ‘in the forefront’, alongside his 200 employees – hoping that his endeavours will allow them to ‘go and get what they want’, with hard work offering its array of rewards. Shifting reputation Switching from the personal, we confronted the many misconceptions of the scrap industry, which, similarly to the steel industry, has had to battle with a less than desirable public image, with a BBC article titled; ‘Why are scrap dealers portrayed as criminals?’ For aspiring tech workers, and sustainability-focused individuals, working in a scrapyard would not be the first job that came to mind. However, Meeks stressed that although working in a scrap

facility ‘gets your hands dirty’, its capacity to recycle metals and enable a circular economy is a powerful fact to take into consideration. ‘‘People don’t take into account the cars that they drive, the refrigerators that they use all the way down to the clipboards. All that’s metal. Every chair you sit in, every desk that you sit at, it has metal: metal screws, metal disc; and we’re never going to go away from it. Oil is the only thing that the earth reproduces on a daily basis. All of those other minerals, what’s in the ground, is all we have. And once it’s gone, it’s gone.’’ Once it’s gone, its gone. In the meantime, Greenwave is sticking with its gameplan to ‘grow and grow’, taking trash and turning it into treasure. � Digital Edition - December 2023

SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

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SCRAP SUPPLEMENT

Steady wins the race

*US correspondent, Steel Times International

www.steeltimesint.com

The US ferrous scrap market has finally begun to stabilize, after a challenging year of falling prices, reduced domestic steel production, and lower overseas demand. By Myra Pinkham*

WHILE this year has been somewhat more challenging than the past few years for the US ferrous scrap market, it is not only expected that conditions will improve next year, but that the market’s medium-to long-term prospects are bright, especially as all the additional electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity comes online. Not only is high-quality steel scrap an important input for American steelmakers and one that has contributed to their reduction in steelmaking emissions, Kevin Dempsey, the president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), said that of the top four steel producing countries (as well as the European Union as a group) the US has the highest ratio of scrap consumed versus steel produced. As a result, he noted that last year, 41Mt of scrap were used to produce domestic steel products, noting that in addition to that, in 2022 there had been more than 12.9Mt of US ferrous scrap exports. Dempsey added that on average, the US processes enough ferrous scrap daily by weight to build 25 Eiffel Towers. “But there have been a lot of balls up in the air this year,” resulting in a lot of volatility for both US ferrous scrap demand and supply, Don Martin, vice president of ferrous marketing and trading with Alter Trading, observed. Joseph Pickard, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI)’s chief economist and director of commodities said that not the least of that has been the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike with the US Big Three automakers and various geopolitical influences, which have all taken their toll on the steel and ferrous scrap markets. A major impact upon the US scrap market has been a weaker than expected domestic steel market, Pickard said, with US manufacturing activity slowing down since mid-2022 at the same time as the housing market has been severely impacted by mortgage rates which are currently Digital Edition - December 2023

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approaching 8% following moves by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to control inflation. Because of this, as well as the fact that there had been ‘a tinge’ of destocking of steel inventories earlier this year, Philip Gibbs, an equity research analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, said that at least until the UAW union reached tentative agreements with the Big Three automakers, US steelmakers have eased their production rates. This has resulted in capacity utilization rates falling to about 74% as of early November, down from a peak of about 78% in June but still up from about 71.5% during the equivalent week last year. Pickard noted that while for most of 2023, US ferrous scrap market conditions had been somewhat weak, they had been very volatile in September through early November, with the auto strike coming at the same time as there had been several planned and unplanned US steel mill production outages. “Recession concerns and concerns about the strike had kept people on the sidelines until the end of October or early November, during which time it began appearing as if the tide was starting to turn.” Alexandra Anderson, a CRU senior steel analyst, noted that during the strike it was sheet steel, therefore largely prime scrap, that was taking a hit, while demand for construction-related long products, which are more likely to use shredded scrap, has been okay, but not strong enough to really support the market. “Demand has been down for all scrap grades,” she said. Gibbs said it tends to be when mills are Digital Edition - December 2023

running full out and are focusing upon their production efficiency that prime scrap tends to really take off, as that is when the mills don’t want to miss a heat. However, he noted that US steel mills have recently found ways to use less prime scrap by both enhancing the quality of the scrap in their own products and through scrap processing processes that can take out such residuals as copper and can enhance the metallic value of lower quality scrap units such as shredded and obsolete scrap. “The proliferation of such scrap technologies over the past two to four years has made prime scrap in less demand than it normally would be,” Gibbs noted, “But if there is a big comeback of steel demand, the mills will pivot back over to prime scrap. That is especially the case for mills which concentrate upon making certain technologically advanced grades of steel that are used for specific end-use applications, Greg Dixon, Smart Recycling Management’s chief executive officer, noted. He said that one example is the Big River Steel unit of US Steel, which recently began producing electric steel, although it also applies to several mills that are producing advanced high strength steels. Another factor that is once again promoting the use of prime scrap is that it is getting more competitive with shredded scrap, Frank Goulding, SA Recycling’s Southeast ferrous marketing manager, said, pointing out that in September the spread between the two was only about $15 per ton, although by October the differential returned to a more traditional $30-$40 per ton.

US ferrous scrap demand has also been impacted by exports, which, according to ISRI, were down 4.8% year-to-date through August. That, Pickard said, is despite the fact that exports to Turkey – the largest importer of US ferrous scrap – were actually up 65%. This being said, according to the World Steel Association, Turkish steel production was down 10.1% year-to-date through September. With Turkey having had a difficult year economically and the war in Ukraine dampening its ability to export its rebar and other steel products to its traditional European customers, the war has also limited its ability to buy ferrous scrap from closer-by origins such as Ukraine, Russia and Western Europe. According to Alexander Kershaw, a Fastmarkets senior steel analyst, Turkey, which tends to go in and out of the US market depending upon its demand, hadn’t bought ferrous scrap for a while and needed to restock. “Going forward Turkey remains a question mark, not just because of the war in Ukraine, but the one in Israel,” Pickard said, given that the Middle East is a big source of demand for Turkish steel. However, as of early November it had seemed as if US scrap exports to Turkey were starting to tick up at somewhat higher buying prices. Both India’s steel production and its purchases of US scrap have been on an upswing this year and could continue to rise. Pickard said that not only was Indian steel output up 11.6% year-to-date through September but it is expected to increase its steel production capacity substantially www.steeltimesint.com

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over the next 10-20 years. Also, even though the majority of its current and future steelmaking capacity is blast furnacebased, US scrap exports to India jumped 45.7% year-to-date through August, and Pickard said it is likely to continue to rise given that the country doesn’t have the recycling capacity in place to meet their scrap demand. Pickard said that the biggest drag has been Bangladesh and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Given the adverse financial and political environment there, US ferrous scrap exports to Bangladesh were down 30.5% year-to-date through August. Also, exports to South Korea were down 36.3% and those to Pakistan down 32.1%. As of late October to early November, ferrous scrap supply and demand was fairly balanced, with no major scrap overhangs or shortages, with just the usual slight tightening that tends to occur with the impact of winter upon collections. But that could change, Alter’s Martin said – if there is a shift in demand and pricing. SA Recycling’s Goulding agreed, noting that on the back of falling prices, scrap flows had fallen 15-18% through October, but with prices rising to $20-$30 a gross ton in November and with the potential of tentative auto strike agreements being ratified, there are some positives in the near future. Something else that the market is keeping its eyes on is new EAF steelmaking capacity that has started to come online and will continue to do so over the next several years, but, according to Gibbs, that hasn’t affected either scrap demand or availability www.steeltimesint.com

yet, with overall US steel mill production rates down. Even with the new steelmaking capacity that has already come online, including Steel Dynamics’ greenfield Sinton, Texas mill, many plants are still only running at about 50% of capacity. “Most of the projects, therefore their scrap impact, won’t likely hit a meaningful stride until 202426,” he predicted. But as the new EAF capacity comes online, Pickard said US mills should become even more reliant upon scrap – not just because of new investments, but because the EAF share could also increase as it is expected that some older, less efficient mill capacity – mostly blast furnace-based – could be idled. Anderson said that this could have a tightening effect upon ferrous scrap supply, noting that CRU is expecting US EAF mills’ scrap demand to increase by about 8% through 2027. Nevertheless, Pickard said that there will continue to be enough scrap available. “The question is at what price,” he said, explaining that when demand for scrap goes up, prices go up with it, “And scrap has a way of coming out of woodwork when prices increase.”

based Garden Street Iron & Metal. He said that he believes that going forward there could be more selective acquisitions and selective dealmaking with some recyclers agreeing to sell their scrap solely to certain mills. Gibbs agreed, stating that steel mills are likely to at least make some ‘small tuck’ acquisitions to fortify their regional planks. According to Pickard, this comes while a lot of scrapyards are buying other scrapyards – especially some big players acquiring smaller- or medium-sized companies. He said this isn’t surprising given that as scrap availability tightens, it tends to lead to both vertical and horizontal consolidation. There is still a lot of uncertainty about what the future will hold for the market, but it is generally believed that the US ferrous scrap market has begun to stabilize after what had been a somewhat more challenging year due to such factors as generally falling prices, reduced domestic steel production and lower overseas demand. “It continues to face elevated costs, including operating costs and energy and

Dixon said this will not only result in mills continuing to increase their use of scrap substitutes such as direct reduced iron, hot briquetted iron and pig iron but, driven by the desire of mills to own their own food chain, they could be encouraged to buy more scrap assets. He noted that one recent example of that was in mid-October with Nucor’s River Metals Recycling units (a subsidiary of David J Joseph) acquiring the assets of Cincinnati-

labour costs,” Pickard noted, but he said it appears that, at least over the short term, conditions seem to be improving with the auto strike apparently over, steel outages ending, and recent steel price hikes supporting scrap prices. He said that the push for more sustainability and emissions reduction and the new EAF steelmaking capacity coming online bodes well for medium-to long-term increases in scrap demand. � Digital Edition - December 2023

PERSPECTIVES Q&A: TVARIT

Cutting edge technology Tvarit, an Industrial AI start-up, is keen to change the image of the steel industry as a slow adopter of technology, working throughout the value chain to optimize production processes. By Vikas Goel* 1. How are things going at TVARIT? Is the steel industry keeping you busy? Things are going well at TVARIT. Our efforts have resulted in a 50% reduction in scrap rates and an 18% decrease in energy consumption for our clients. By fully leveraging Industrial AI technologies, steel producers can enhance production by 1012% and see a 4-5% increase in EBITDA. 2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry? The global steel industry is currently facing a bit of uncertainty on multiple fronts. There’s pressure from capital expenditures incurred due to the push for decarbonization, uncertainty about scrap supply for EAF steelmaking, energy price fluctuations, and some talent-related challenges. On a positive note, discussions with tech leaders in major steel companies reveal that those with an innovative mindset view this uncertainty as an opportunity. 3. In which sector of the steel industry does TVARIT mostly conduct its business? In the steel sector, TVARIT primarily engages with integrated producers. We work with them across the entire value chain, from ironmaking to producing finished products. These clients recognise the cascading impact of optimising the various steel production processes in enhancing the quality of the end product. 4. Where in the world are you busiest at present? Currently, our primary operational focus is on Europe. We also work with a number of customers in Asia. There is growing interest in our solutions from the US market. 5. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are currently working on? We are actively engaged in key domains, including electric arc furnaces, cold rolling

processes, and galvanising line processes. Furthermore, ongoing discussions involve exploring the application of Generative AI in maintenance and quality areas. 6. Where does TVARIT stand on the aluminium versus steel argument? TVARIT takes a balanced stance in the aluminium versus steel debate, acknowledging the unique strengths of each metal. We don’t foresee a substantial shift from steel to aluminium as a substitute. We are committed to providing innovative AI solutions tailored for both industries, minimizing waste and promoting sustainability in their operations.

Vikas Goel

7. What are your views on Industry 4.0 and steelmaking and how, if at all, is TVARIT using it? We strongly advocate for adopting Industry 4.0 in steelmaking, especially in Europe, which faces labour shortages and challenges from Asian competitors. TVARIT employs AI in this transformation, optimizing steel production for quality control and energy efficiency.

8. Hydrogen steelmaking appears to be the next big thing. What’s your view? Tackling the global imperative of decarbonization demands a comprehensive strategy. Exploring alternatives like hydrogen steelmaking is key to achieving reduced carbon emissions. It’s essential to recognize that adopting newer processes may incur substantial costs. Given our belief that green premiums will likely be short-lived, integrating artificial intelligence becomes essential. 9. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like TVARIT to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? The dynamics shift post-COVID coupled with the rise of the green steel wave, has prompted steel producers to actively seek external collaborative solutions for their energy efficiency and sustainability goals. There’s a growing realization that achieving rapid progress often requires collaboration rather than solely relying on in-house efforts. 10. How quickly has the steel industry responded to ‘green politics’ in terms of making the production process more environmentally friendly and are they succeeding or fighting a losing battle? The European steel industry has responded swiftly to the demands of green politics. The sector has intensified its commitment to transformative change in response to mounting pressure to achieve carbon neutrality and growing demands for green steel from customer segments like the automotive industry. 11. Where does TVARIT lead the field in terms of steel production technology? TVARIT takes the lead in advancing steel

*Vice president of operations, Tvarit Digital Edition - December 2023

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PERSPECTIVES Q&A: TVARIT

production technology through our state-of-the-art Hybrid AI technology. Our specialization spans both upstream and downstream processes, offering prescriptive analytics solutions in a range of areas. 12. How do you view TVARIT’s development over the short-tomedium term in relation to the global steel industry? Over the next 12 months, our primary focus will be on the European steel industry, delivering solutions for both upstream processes such as ironmaking and steelmaking, as well as downstream processes, particularly cold rolling, and galvanizing lines. 13. Where do you see most innovation in terms of production technologies – primary, secondary or more downstream? In recent years, primary steel production has been the focal point for most innovations. Notably, advancements in more energyefficient and environmentally friendly methods, like hydrogen-based steelmaking and the widespread adoption of electric arc furnaces, have been prominent.

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14. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward and what challenges face global producers in the short-to-medium term? I am cautiously optimistic about the global steel industry’s future. It is undergoing a significant transformation, with an increased focus on sustainability and technological advancements. Despite these positive shifts, there are several challenges in the short-to-medium term, including environmental regulation, raw material costs, and global trade uncertainties. 15. What exhibitions and conferences will TVARIT be attending in over the next six months? We’re excited to attend two upcoming steel conferences: Global Steel Sustainability Summit in Hamburg, Germany, and the Future Steel Forum in Stockholm. 16. TVARIT is headquartered in Germany; what’s happening steel-wise in the country? In Germany, the steel sector is proactively striving for increased sustainability, renewed competitiveness, and the adoption

of cutting-edge technologies. There is a concerted effort by both the nation and manufacturers to decrease carbon emissions, evident in the state support extended to companies like Salzgitter and Thyssenkrupp. 17. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night? Beyond a jolt of Java, what keeps me up is the criticism of the steel industry for its slow adoption of technology and significant carbon emissions. I am eager to contribute to changing this perception by assisting companies in embracing cutting-edge technologies. 18. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry? I’d employ it to expedite the shift towards net-zero and zero-waste manufacturing. The overarching goal is to drive the industry towards an eco-friendly and economically sustainable future, fostering benefits for both the sector and the planet. �

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HISTORY

Cantlop Bridge – a cast iron kit for bridge construction Cantlop cast iron bridge built 1813 (the railings are modern)

CANTLOP Bridge, located about seven kilometres south of Shrewsbury in England’s West Midlands, remains one of few surviving cast iron bridges in situ in the country. Although no longer used by traffic today, it survives as an example of a single span bridge of gentle curvature, cast from iron. Constructed in 1813, a sketch design was probably made by Thomas Telford with detail being provided by Thomas Stanton (1782-1846), an employee of Telford. Telford was county surveyor of Shropshire, a role including surveyor of bridges from 1787 until his death in 1834, and as such would have to approve the final design. Telford was responsible for 42 bridges in the county, seven of which were made of cast iron. From 1811, Telford was frequently away working on other projects and Stanton acted as de facto county surveyor in his absence.

In the Cantlop example, four lattice spandrels of cast iron ribs support a deck of cast iron plates. Each spandrel was cast in two halves to be joined at the apex of the arch, with each spandrel tied together by five cross bars perpendicular to the spandrels. The length of the span is 9.5m (31’). This design was used in three other bridges in the County, and others elsewhere, with the length of the spandrels being adapted to the span required. In Shropshire, similar cast iron bridges were built at Meole Brace in 1811 – the longest with a span of 16.7m (55’), at Cound (1818) and at Stokesay (1823). Two of the spandrels from the Cound Bridge, which was demolished in 1967, have been redeployed to build a footbridge in the nearby town of Telford. With the exception of Stokesay, each bridge was cast by William Hazeldine, a

friend of Telford, mostly at Hazeldine’s foundry in Shrewsbury. The contract for Stokesay was awarded to the Coalbrookdale company of Ironbridge. Unlike ‘Ironbridge’ (the world’s first bridge to use cast iron, constructed in 1779 by Abraham Derby III to span the River Severn at Ironbridge Gorge, 25km from Cantlop Bridge), Telford’s bridges used much lighter spandrels. This was achieved by employing a latticework of slender ribs rather than the approach used by Derby who copied the existing design concept of a timber bridge, with its carpentry joints, simply replacing wood with iron. Indeed, the very first bridge Telford designed in cast iron, which also crossed the Severn, at Buildwas, was 9m (30’) longer than Ironbridge, but only weighed half as much. Constructed in 1796, just 17 years after Ironbridge, Telford concluded that Derby’s

*Consulting editor, Steel Times International, and honourable secretary, Wealden Iron Research Group Digital Edition - December 2023

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HISTORY

VISITING

CANTLOP BRIDGE Cantlop Bridge is a Grade II listed monument in the care of English Heritage.Condover, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY5 7DD. NGR SJ517062 The bridge is easily accessible, located next to the road. From Acton Burnell follow the road north through Pitchford and Cantlop. The bridge is alongside this road approximately half a mile from Cantlop. Parking is available in a layby just beyond the new bridge. Entry is free.

Detail of spandrel showing one of the cross ties.

The Ironbridge at Coalbrookdale.

Cantlop Bridge, now over two centuries old, stands today as an example of Thomas Telford’s feats of engineering, as well as William Hazledine’s mastery in the foundry. By Tim Smith* Part of one of the cast iron plates making up the roadway,

bridge would not survive the horizontal forces caused by land slip behind the abutments reducing the span – a correct assessment, not remedied until the mid1970s when a concrete invert arch was built across the river bed beneath the bridge to prevent further movement. Ironbridge still stands today whereas Buildwas bridge was demolished in 1905 due to the same problem; instability of the abutments causing horizontal forces on the spandrels. Engineer Thomas Telford (1757 – 1834) Telford relied on Hazeldine’s expertise to cast components for many of his most famous bridges including the Conwy suspension bridge (1826) the larger Menai suspension bridge (1826), (STI Nov/Dec 2023) and the Pontcysylite aqueduct (1805) (STI May/June 2018). In all, Telford was responsible for building over 80 bridges. This was in addition to his work in canal construction – 17 in total, including the Caledonian Canal in the country of his birth, www.steeltimesint.com

subsequently overlaid with tarmac and gravel.

Detail of carpentry joints in the construction of Ironbridge.

Scotland, and the Gotha canal in Sweden. He was also involved in the construction of 37 docks and as surveyor of 25 roads. Railways almost passed him by with just three claiming him as engineer. Four river works were designed by him as were four water supply works and four drainage projects. His architectural achievement was the design of 40 churches in Scotland for which he developed a simple ‘T’ plan as they were funded by Parliament under the stipulation that building costs should not exceed £1,500.

building in the world. Hazeldine became a friend of Telford when both men joined a Masonic Lodge early in their careers and Telford used Hazeldine to cast the components of many of his projects in the coming years. The chains for the Conwy and Menai suspension bridges are made up of solid cast iron links each 2.7m long. Each section consists of five parallel links through which two wrought iron bushes make a chain. The links were cast by Shropshire ironmaster, William Hazeldine (1763-1840) and tested under tension by him prior to supply. Such was the quality of his castings that only 6% failed the test. In all, for the Menai Bridge, 35,649 components were manufactured by Hazeldine, mainly in wrought iron, apart from the cast iron chain links. The ironwork of the Manai Bridge was replaced with steel in the 1940s, but the cast iron links of the Conwy Bridge survive as originals, (reinforced with steel cables), and the bridge is now limited to pedestrians. �

Ironmaster William Hazledine (17631840) Trained as a millwright, Hazledine moved to Shrewsbury where he first leased Pichford forge for the production of wrought iron and then built a foundry in the town. In 1800, he leased a second forge, Upton forge. One of his first casting contracts was for the framework of the Ditherington flax mill, believed to be the oldest iron-framed

Digital Edition - December 2023