Why we should electrify ironmaking. The future is bright, says Myra Pinkham. Kyle Morgan of
Unlock green steel production
From hot to cold: John Cockerill
Metals offers the entire steel value chain an exceptional opportunity for curbing their CO2 emissions.
The unique combination of its historic and recently developed product portfolio, make John Cockerill one of the industry’s most relevant suppliers of equipment for both the hot and cold phase of the steelmaking and processing industry.
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Iron & Steelmaking: decarbonizing steelmaking, a strategic imperative
Our new upstream offering related to DRI (Direct Reduced Iron), EAF (Electric Arc Furnaces) technologies and the use of hydrogen in steelmaking. Next to offering indirect electrification (DRI-EAF&H2-DRI-EAF),John Cockerill is also working on Volteron®: A first-of-a-kind iron reduction and steel processing route via direct cold electrolysis. This CO2 free steelmaking process, has been co-developed with the world’s leading steelmaker ArcelorMittal.
Processing & Rolling: game changing downstream technologies
Regrouping our historical downstream product portfolio, this segment also includes:
¡ the Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD®) technology set to replace today’s hot-dip or electro galvanizing processes. This novel high-productivity vacuum coating technology provides previously unknown coating flexibility and possibilities, all while offering lower CAPEX and OPEX.
¡ our E-Si® equipment & processing lines specifically designed to produce high-quality Non-Grain Oriented (NGO) steel in response to the need for electrical steel meeting precise metallurgical properties, essential to support the shift towards green mobility.
Services & Energy Efficiency: our unique know how to the benefit of our clients
This segment not only embraces all services and after-sales activities but will be strongly focusing on downstream furnace electrification (reheating and processing line furnaces), as well as hydrogen combustion, and the optimization of plant operations, including energy audits and the modernization of steel production equipment and installations.
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The latest global steel news.
The latest products and contracts.
Innovations special
Enhanced visibility with Princeton TMX.
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USA update SMS group aid Nucor Alabama revamp.
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Latin America update
Celebrating 80 years of Acesita/Aperam. 21
India update
Ironmaking
Dud Dudley – coke and ironmaking pioneer. 2 Leader By Matthew Moggridge.
Getting the balance right. 24 Cover story
Will green steel turbocharge Ukraine?
Why we should electrify ironmaking.
30 Electric steelmaking
The future is looking bright. 34
Future Steel Forum 2025
News about next year’s Bilbao event.
36 UK Metals Expo
Coverage of this year’s conference. 40
Oxygen steelmaking
Anti-wear copper staves in blast furnaces.
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Using limestone chips for steel refining.
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Perspectives
Kyle Morgan, vice-president of operations, The Systems Group. 52 History
Austria investing heavily in hydrogen production
Matthew Moggridge Editor
matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com
It’s Monday morning. Last Friday evening I flew home from Vienna to London Heathrow on an Austrian Airlines flight and finally walked through my front door (having opened it first of course) around 2130hrs. From Tuesday of last week through to Thursday, I attended ESTEP’s 2024 Annual Event, a conference sponsored by Primetals Technologies and Austrian steelmaker voestalpine and held in Linz, a two-hour train journey from Vienna, where both companies have a strong presence.
The event had a dual title: H2 For Green Steel meets A Circular Economy Driven by European Steel and I am pleased to say that yours truly was part of this stimulating meeting of minds. I was moderating a panel of experts in what was billed as a High Level Panel Discussion on hydrogen steelmaking featuring, as panelists, Axel Eggert, director-general of EUROFER, Kurt Satzinger, head of R&D at voestalpine, Jürgen Schneider, director of the Directorate General VI Climate Action & Energy, and Austrian Ministry Representative, Alexander Fleischanderl, CTO of Primetals and Christian Weinberger, Hydrogen Europe.
In Austria, the steel industry employs 14,000 people and accounts for 15% of Austrian GHG emissions, which is roughly double that of the global average. Hydrogen – or more specifically ‘green steelmaking’ – is a topic of high importance. The Austrian government engages in a regular dialogue with energy-intensive industry because green, renewable hydrogen is a central pillar in achieving competitive net-zero industrial production in Austria, says Jürgen Schneider, explaining how the Austrian Ministry of Climate’s 2022 Hydrogen Strategy has set an ambitious target of 1GW electrolyser capacity by 2030. The Hydrogen Support Act is enabling targeted support for the production of green hydrogen in Austria, committing 820 million Euros over 10 years in addition to a 2.975 billion Euro ‘transformation of industry’ programme supporting the decarbonization of industry through the subsidisation of investment costs.
Schneider believes, however, that the quantities of hydrogen required for the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors of industry will not be covered by production capacities in Austria alone.
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India should double the customs duty on steel to check imports as the country faces dumping of steel and predatory pricing, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India's CEO Dilip Oommen said on Tuesday. India's finished steel imports from China hit a seven-year high during the first five months of the 2024/25 financial year. "The basic customs duty should be doubled to 15% from 7.5% currently," Oommen said at the Financial Times Live Energy Transition Summit India.
Source: Deccan Herald, 8 October 2024.
The third saw at British Steel’s £26 million Skinningrove Service Centre is scheduled to be commissioned this month. With two saws already operational, it will be the next major milestone for the company’s special profiles investment. The service centre includes cut-to-length lines, product milling, machining, and warehousing operations, and will enable British Steel to make and process an extended range of valueadded profiles for the forklift industry.
Source: British Steel, 7 October 2024.
Thyssenkrupp AG is carrying out a review of its plans for a green steel project that may lead to its eventual cancellation, local media has reported, citing internal documents.
The German steel company is considering halting construction of the planned direct reduction plant, which could trigger the repayment of government subsidies worth around €500 million.
Source: The Star, 8 October 2024.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a major steel producer in North America, has announced the clearance of a significant regulatory hurdle in its pending acquisition of Stelco Holdings Inc. The expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 was confirmed in early October, signalling progress towards the anticipated completion of the acquisition by the end of 2024.
Source: Investing.com, 8 October 2024.
Victor Cairo, CEO of ArcelorMittal México, has announced the restarting of production of long products at the company’s Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán plant, with capacity of 1.5Mt/yr. This progress marks the conclusion
of the process of reactivating all its production operations. Previously, the plant had re-established the production of flat products, reaching a capacity of 3.8Mt/yr.
Source: BN Americas, 8 October 2024.
A new initiative is being launched to support workers affected by the closure of blast furnaces at the UK’s biggest steelworks. The Community union said a support centre in Port Talbot, South Wales, involved an ‘ambitious partnership’ with the Welsh and UK governments, and local agencies. The union said the recent closure of the blast furnaces at the plant will have a huge knock-on impact on the local economy and community.
Source: The Standard, 9 October 2024.
The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), India's largest governmentowned steel producer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with global resources company BHP to collaborate on decarbonizing steelmaking. The partnership focuses on developing lower-carbon technology pathways for the blast furnace route at SAIL's integrated steel plants. The collaboration will explore strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by considering the use of alternate reductants such as hydrogen and biochar in blast furnaces.
Source: ET Energy World, 8 October 2024.
Steel has been cut on HMS Formidable, the third of the British Royal Navy’s new Type 31 warships, at a ceremony in the Rosyth shipyard, in an aim to reinforce the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to shipbuilding in Scotland. All five frigates will be built in Rosyth, sustaining over 2,500 jobs in Scotland and across the wider supply chain. The work will also create an additional 400 apprenticeship roles.
Source: Gov UK, 9 October 2024.
Lindab and Tata Steel Nederland have entered a memorandum of understanding for the latter to supply Zeremis® green steel once the IJmuiden steelworks transitions to hydrogen-based steel production. Lindab is a supplier of ventilation systems, with approximately 80-95% of Lindab's products' environmental impact and around 50% of Lindab's total emissions coming from steel.
Source: Fuel Cell Works, 9 October 2024.
Indian wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon has won a 400 megaWatt (Mw) order from Jindal Renewables, to decarbonize steel production. The project is the largest commercial and industrial wind energy order in India, according to a joint press statement. Suzlon will install 127 wind turbine generators (WTGs) with a rated capacity of 3.15 MW each, utilising Hybrid Lattice Tubular (HLT) towers in the Koppal region of Karnataka. The power generated will be used by steel plants in Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Source: Business Standard, 10 October 2024.
Steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta is being prosecuted by Companies House for failing to file accounts for more than 70 companies listed in Britain. Gupta is facing enforcement action from the UK’s business register for the late filing, which could result in a fine or being disqualified as a director. The latest prosecution comes as the Gupta family Group Alliance, the collection of companies headed by Gupta, remains subject to a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into suspected fraud linked to the collapse of its main lender Greensill Capital in 2021.
Source: The Guardian, 10 October 2024.
A UK wind turbine parts factory under construction has secured £225 million of investment. SeAh Wind UK said the money for the site at Teesworks Freeport, near Redcar, will increase its capacity to build bigger parts. It will make monopiles – the structures that support offshore wind turbines – which will then be exported to Europe and the US. Chris Sohn, chief executive of SeAH Wind UK, said the company's aims was to become the country's first monopile manufacturer and ‘make a significant contribution to the UK economy’.
Source: BBC, 11 October 2024.
Global steel producer Liberty Steel has submitted an offer to lease its Częstochowa steel plant in Poland. The proposal includes the provision of immediate financial resources to pay off debts and pay wages to employees for September, local media has reported. In September 2024, bankruptcy procedures of the Częstochowa plant resumed after a short break. The company has said that Częstochowa’s creditors had approved its restructuring plan, and it is now awaiting a court decision on whether to approve the plant or continue the search for a new tenant.
Source: GMK Center, 11 October 2024.
Nippon Steel has said that it will sell its entire 50% stake in a joint-venture steel plant it
has in Calvert, Alabama, with ArcelorMittal, if the Japanese steelmaker succeeds in a buyout bid for United States Steel. The world's fourthlargest steelmaker believes the move is needed to clear antitrust concerns and would hasten US authorities' review of the US Steel deal, a senior company official said.
Source: Reuters, 11 October 2024.
Global producer of stainless steel and high-strength alloys, the Acerinox Group, has temporarily stopped steel production at its smelter in the city of Los Barrios, Cádiz province, as of 12 October 2024. The decision was made after concluding an agreement on the temporary reduction of jobs with employees, Spanish media reported, citing sources in the company. The main reason for stopping production is the drop in demand and the loss of customers. The company has not yet made an official comment on this situation.
Source: GMK Center, 11 October 2024.
Turkey’s decision to introduce tariffs on cheap foreign imports of steel has been welcomed by domestic industry experts. Ankara moved to protect its domestic steel industry against ‘cheap imports from Asia’ by imposing taxes on hot rolled steel (HRS) produced in China, India, Japan and Russia. The tariffs range from 6% to 43.3% of the cost, insurance and freight value of HRS products from the four countries. The move was announced on 11 October.
Source: Arabian Gulf Business Insight, 14 October 2024.
Danish manufacturing company The VELUX Group has entered a 10-year agreement with ArcelorMittal concerning the supply of recycled and renewably produced steel. In 2023, the two companies agreed to enter a partnership to lower the carbon footprint of the steels used in VELUX roof windows by up to 70%, compared with conventionally
Italian steelmaker Acciaierie d’Italia has restarted blast furnace No.1, as of 15 October. The ceremony in Taranto was attended by the company’s special commissioners and Italian minister of enterprise and production Adolfo Urso. Prior to this, only blast furnace No. 4 was operating in Taranto, while blast furnace No. 5 had been out of service for several years.
Source: GMK Center, 15 October 2024.
produced steel. This cooperation involved the
Russian troops have advanced to a radius within 12km of the strategic supply hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. Thousands of residents have fled and key road and rail links to other cities risk being severed. Concern has also risen due to the proximity of a mine that produces a special type of coal needed to produce coke, an essential element in steelmaking – which is second only to agriculture in earning hard currency for Ukraine. Ukraine’s metal exports were worth almost $2 billion in the first eight months of this year, according to trade data.
Source: Reuters, 16 October 2024.
A request for proposal (RFP) has been issued under the Indian government’s National Green Hydrogen Mission for the injection of hydrogen into existing blast furnaces and direct reduced iron (DRI) vertical shafts in the steel sector. This initiative, led by MECON Limited, is aimed at advancing the use of hydrogen to decarbonize steel production in India. The RFP requires the submission of both a techno-commercial bid and a price bid.
Source: Solar Quarter, 15 October 2024.
testing and validation of ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® recycled and renewably produced steel and its performance in VELUX roof window hinges and installation brackets.
Source: yahoo!finance, 15 October 2024.
International metals business group GFG Alliance Australia has been honoured by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) for its leadership in occupational health and well-being. The group’s programme, ‘You Matter. We Care.’ was recognised as part of worldsteel’s annual Safety and Health Awards. Speaking on this achievement, Fran Nores, global head of safety, said, “At GFG Alliance Australia, we believe that creating a mentally healthy workplace is just as important as ensuring physical safety. This recognition from worldsteel highlights the importance of putting our people’s mental health at the forefront, and I’m incredibly proud of the commitment shown by our teams.” Source: GFG Alliance, 17 October 2024.
Pennsylvania-based Universal Stainless & Alloy Products
Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Aperam in what has been planned as an allcash transaction. Aperam is based in Luxembourg and is a global player in stainless, electrical and specialty steel and recycling, with customers in more than 40 countries. The company has six production facilities in Brazil, Belgium and France and has shipped 2.2Mt of metal last year.
Source: Recycling Today, 17 October 2024.
To strengthen its global presence, Jindal Group is in talks with Vitkovice Steel to acquire a 100% stake in the Czech-based company. “The group is expected to complete the acquisition by the end of this fiscal year through its arm Jindal Steel International,” sources said. This would be Jindal Group's first acquisition in Europe. The Naveen Jindalowned business house already has a significant presence in geographies like Australia, Mozambique and Oman in sectors such as steel, power and mining.
Source: The Hindu, 20 October 2024.
ArcelorMittal has announced that it will suspend production of long products in Asturias, northern Spain. Lack of orders and high energy costs have led to the temporary closure of long products lines at the Verigny plant and the Gijon steel plant.
The decision to idle will affect about 500 employees, of whom 180 will take annual or sick leave. However, the majority will be subject to temporary pay cuts.
Source: GMK Center, 22 October 2024.
A ‘first-of-its-kind’ green steel facility, located in New South Wales, Australia, will feature technology supplied by Danieli, an Italian-based metal processer and supplier. Greensteel Australia has partnered with Danieli to develop the plant and is targeting commencement of operations by late 2026. Danieli will build a 600kt/ yr rolling mill that will be powered entirely by green hydrogen.
Source: Fuel Cell Works, 22 October 2024.
Sheffield Forgemasters will produce steel for a new UK artillery gun barrel factory, following a landmark agreement signed by British defence secretary and South Yorkshire MP, John Healey. The deal allows German aircraft to operate from Scottish bases, enhancing joint military operations. It also includes the joint development of long-range strike weapons designed to be more precise and capable than current systems, including the Storm Shadow missile.
Source: The Yorkshire Post, 23 October 2024.
Austrian steelmaker voestalpine has agreed to sell its German subsidiary Buderus Edelstahl to investment firm Mutares, the companies have announced, without disclosing the purchase price. Voestalpine said it expected the transaction to close by the end of this year pending regulatory approvals. Buderus Edelstahl employs 1,130 people and generated $391.07 million in sales last year. Mutares said it would negotiate a social plan with employees if it becomes necessary to reduce the workforce, without providing further details about any potential job cuts.
Source: MSN, 24 October 2024.
A new report from climate campaigner Industrious Labs aims to quantify the costs and damage to public health caused by the use of coal across the USA. The report found that cancer rates related to air pollution are 12% higher near these steel plants than national rates and 26% higher for residents living near coke plants. Researchers used modelling to link increased cases of asthma symptoms to the toxic byproducts, like sulphur dioxide and lead, emitted from coalbased steelmaking plants.
Source: Inside Climate News, 24 October 2024.
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Primetals chosen as supplier for major decarbonization project
German steel producer Dillinger and its subsidiary ROGESA have signed contracts with Primetals Technologies for the supply of a new production complex, which includes a DRI plant, contracted along with Midrex Technologies, and an EAF Ultimate electric arc furnace plant including two twin ladle furnaces. These solutions from Primetals Technologies will support Dillinger and ROGESA in meeting their goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 4.8Mt/yr within six years.
Dillinger and ROGESA, as part of the SHS Group (SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar), have launched a green steel transformation project to replace the current blast furnace-based production route in Dillingen, Germany. Having a single suppli-
er for the complete range of ironmaking and steelmaking facilities comes with several benefits for Dillinger and ROGESA, particularly in terms of implementation and tailored design features to accommodate plant installations alongside existing equipment. Dillinger and ROGESA chose Primetals Technologies based on its technological solutions and strong references for both DRI plants and EAF technology.
“This partnership with Primetals Technologies represents an important building block on the way to climate-friendly steel production here in Germany,’’ said Dr. Peter Maagh, chief technical officer at Dillinger. “We are convinced that we can successfully launch our Power4Steel
decarbonization project on schedule with such an experienced and reliable partner.’’
The new direct reduction plant will produce hot direct reduced iron (HDRI) and cold DRI (CDRI) with an annual capacity of 2Mt. A consortium of Midrex and Primetals Technologies will handle the engineering and supply of both mechanical as well as electrics and automation equipment. This includes a material handling system, a water treatment plant, auxiliary equipment, and training and advisory services. Primetals Technologies will also provide a complete basic (Level 1) and process optimization (Level 2) system featuring the DRIpax expert system, which ensures consistent high quality DRI.
“The transition to green steel production will not happen overnight, we will see a stepby-step process towards carbon neutrality,” said Andreas Viehböck, head of upstream technologies at Primetals Technologies. “With this investment, Dillinger and ROGESA are set to reach their mid-to-long-term goals in terms of decarbonization. The solutions from Primetals Technologies and Midrex will allow them to ramp up the use of hydrogen gradually while adapting to a changing energy landscape. We are very happy to support them on this endeavour and beyond.”
MIDREX Flex technology is designed to operate at different ratios of natural gas and hydrogen, up to 100% hydrogen. Initially, the plant will be operated with a mix of natural gas and hydrogen, allowing for a carbon footprint reduction of more than 50% compared to blast furnace-based ironmaking. The MIDREX Flex plant will be implemented with hydrogen-ready equipment and piping, such as three stages of process gas compressors. Moreover, it features a hot transport conveyor
to utilize the valuable heat of the HDRI for direct charging into the electric arc furnace at the Dillingen site. A DRI cooling solution will enable the transport of CDRI.
“The decision by Dillinger and ROGESA for MIDREX Flex technology allows them to transition to hydrogen-based ironmaking at the pace that matches the availability of sufficient gas supply while reducing their current CO2 emissions significantly,” K.C. Woody, Midrex president and CEO, said. “DRI-based steelmaking provides a pathway to a sustainable future, both economically and environmentally, and our technology solutions offer the flexibility and performance to turn promise into success.”
Primetals Technologies’ scope of supply for the new meltshop includes a 195-ton furnace with a 9.6-metre furnace diameter and a 300 megavolt-amperes (MVA) transformer, the LiquiRob robotics system for safety operations, two 195-ton twin ladle furnaces (LF), a material handling system, primary, secondary, and auxiliary dedusting systems for the EAF plant, a waste heat recovery system, and a water treatment plant. The heat
recovery system converts waste heat into steam, which will be reused in other production units.
The EAF Ultimate will feature advanced Level 1 and Level 2 automation systems, including the EAF Controller and EAF Optimizer, enabling both closed-loop control of the furnace for fulfilment of the desired product quality and production planning.
Primetals Technologies’ virtual plant solutions for both the DRI and the EAF plant will allow testing of software and operator training before start-up and throughout the entire lifecycle of the plant, ensuring a smooth ramp-up of production. Moreover, the scrap yard will be equipped with AI-based sensor systems, allowing fully automated operation of the scrap yard. A Melt Expert electrode control system will be installed at the EAF plant and the LFs, offering productivity gains and cost-savings related to reduced consumption, claims Primetals.
For more information, log on to www.primetals.com
Systems Spray-Cooled to provide equipment for EAF project
Systems Spray-Cooled has received an order from Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A., Italy for the design and supply of Spray-Cooled™ equipment for voestalpine Stahl Donawitz’s new electric arc furnace (EAF) project located in Leoben, Austria.
As part of Danieli’s recently awarded contract, the voestalpine Donawitz project involves two 65-ton AC EAFs. The EAFs will utilize Spray-Cooling for the upper shells, roof, and
DES fume elbow.
The Austrian steelmaker’s decision to install Spray-Cooled™ equipment was based on the need for the safest and most reliable solution when considering long-term maintenance costs, System’s Spray-Cooled stated.
For further information, log on to www.tsg.bz.
OndoSense launches new generation of distance radar
Automation company OndoSense has launched the latest generation of its distance radar for automation in the metal and steel industry. The OndoSense apex radar sensor for precise distance measurements now offers a Profinet interface and an even higher measuring rate of 500 Hz. With this real-time measuring speed and a measuring precision of up to ±1 µm, the OndoSense apex is further strengthening its position as the most powerful industrial distance sensor on the radar market, the company claims.
The application spectrum of the OndoSense apex radar sensor ranges from micrometre-precise distance measurements and dimensional measurements to accurate level, height and throughput measurements as well as determining of the position of hidden objects (e.g. behind plastic sheets or packaging). Due to its wide measuring range of 0.1 to 40 metres, the OndoSense apex can be used both at close range and over longer distances. The radar sensor is suitable for a variety of industries – from the steel, metal and mining industries to mechanical engineering, the energy sector or transport and logistics.
“Thanks to the unique reliability, robustness and precision of our radar sensor, customers can achieve high productivity gains in complex appli-
cations in a very short time – e. g. in the width and profile measurement of semi-finished metal products or the level measurement of molten aluminium, copper or steel. The OndoSense apex enables automation even in harsh industrial environments with high demands regarding measurement speed and precision. Based on the feedback
WKE launches new pellet range
Alternative fuel manufacturer WKE has launched a new range of pellet sizes, expanding its product offering to better serve a range of heavy industries.
The move comes as the manufacturer, home to the world’s largest pelleting plant in Middlesbrough, responds to industry-specific challenges and growing demand from UK and international markets.
In addition to its 9mm diameter pellet, WKE’s product line-up now includes 9mm and 6mm shortcut pellets, which have been designed to extend burn time and reduce excess waste in the main burner of cement kilns.
WKE has also introduced a 16mm pellet, which has been engineered for use as a sustainable alternative to waste wood in the biomass sector.
Commenting on the new range, CEO Ian Jones said: “Our new range of pellet sizes represents a significant step forward in our mission to provide a cleaner, greener and cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels.
“By tailoring our products to meet the bespoke needs of sectors like cement, power and steel manufacturing, we can further support these heavy energy-use industries in reducing their dependence on fossil fuels, all while cutting their energy costs and tackling the enormous amount
from our customers, we have now been able to optimize again the high level of performance and further simplify commissioning,” said Rainer Waltersbacher, Co-CEO of OndoSense.
For further information, log on to www.ondosense.com
of waste that ends up in landfill.”
Founded in 2019, WKE produces alternative fuel pellets from non-recyclable commercial and industrial waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. These pellets, says WKE, serve as a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, which are widely used in heavy industries such as cement, power generation, steel and brickmaking.
For further information, log on to www.wkeltd.com
Tenova to supply an acid regeneration plant for Delna in Italy
Tenova, a developer and provider of sustainable solutions for the green transition of the metals industry, has been awarded a contract by Delna S.p.A., an ArcelorMittal CLN Distribuzione Italia Group company and a primary provider of pickling services for coils and wire rod, for an Acid Regeneration Plant (ARP) with a capacity of 2.000 l/h for its plant in Brivio, Italy.
The new ARP will be equipped with the BLUEdriven™ cutting-edge package solutions that will be controlled by a customized monitoring process, increasing production flexibility and optimizing operative costs, while guaranteeing minimal environmental impact, says Tenova.
According to Tenova, the BLUEdriven™ FlexCapacity process provides unique and significant capacity flexibility that allows adjustments to steel production according to demand, while the ARP’s operation remains uninterrupted and stable. This configuration aims to optimize energy consumption, reduce the plant’s ecological footprint, and extend its lifetime.
The ZeroWaste fully automated process recycles the rinsing and scrubber water from the pickling process at different concentrations, recovering the available chlorides of the production cycle and closing the loop.
The ARP will be equipped with Tenova Edge, the Tenova IIoT gateway which allows the connection of the ARP to Tenova’s IIoT Platform. Tenova will provide Delna with tailored dashboards, showing KPIs related to the ARP operation.
After completion, Tenova will provide technical and technological support for 24 months, both remotely and on-site, with the aim of continu-
ously optimizing performance.
“With this project, Delna, already a key player in the Italian and European steel industry, further enhances its commitment to environmental sustainability and eco-friendly processes,” commented Gabriele Fabbi, plant manager at Delna.
“The challenge of this specific project is the location of the plant itself, which is surrounded by a national park. Since the beginning, both the customer’s and Tenova’s goal has been the
Sandvik Coromant creates new grade for milling tool systems
Sandvik Coromant, a manufacturer of cutting tools and tooling systems, has announced the launch of GC1230, a new insert grade for indexable milling.
“GC1230 has a ground-breaking coating innovation delivering exceptional performance with security, predictability and sustainability. It is the first choice for steel milling applications,” commented Wayne Mayson, global product application manager for grades at Sandvik Coromant.
Mayson added: “This new steel milling PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) grade innovation comprises of a nano multi-layer TiAlN + TiSiN coating with improved adhesion – a coating
technology that is improved in all directions of performance capability. In short, it is stronger for longer whether wet or dry steel milling applications”.
Comprehensive tests conducted between the existing grade GC1130 and the new grade GC1230 have shown the latter’s superior strengths and versatility. The new grade builds upon the qualities of grade GC1130 but has a wider application coverage due to increased toughness and wear resistance capabilities at even higher cutting data, claims the company.
For further information, log on to www.sandvik.coromant.com
protection of the sensitive environment” stated Gregor Kappacher, project director at Tenova Austria. “Thanks to our expertise and sustainable technology, we have designed a plant that fully complies with the latest environmental standards, while being cost-effective and flexible for future development.”
For further information, log on to www.tenova.com
Gerdau achieves enhanced visibility with Princeton TMX
Global steelmaker Gerdau turned to software company Princeton TMX to enhance its visibility, and better manage its carriers and rates.
Global manufacturer Gerdau produces a wide range of steel products and operates within a large network of metal recycling locations, steel mills and downstream facilities. Its business divisions manufacture both long and special steel products for agricultural, automotive, construction, distribution, energy, industrial, and mining markets.
The company’s Gerdau Long Steel North America (GLN) business division operates six steel mills in the US and three in Canada, manufacturing merchant bar, structural steel, piling, special bar quality and rebar products. GLN utilizes a variety of facilities and third-party processors for its freight moves. The company’s complicated supply chain operations require extensive, careful planning, but its previous transportation management system (TMS) did not provide the level of automation and visibility it needed.
GLN needed to move toward a digital model while enhancing visibility and better managing its carriers and rates. So, they began the search for a TMS that would fully enable the next stage of its supply chain evolution.
Challenges with a legacy TMS
For years, GLN utilized a legacy TMS that presented communication issues, development roadblocks and functionality gaps that also limited its ability to meet growing business demands. Certain core features were either under-developed or absent in the existing system, leaving critical workflow gaps.
GLN manages a variety of unique shipping scenarios involving mills that produce steel, downstream non-production facilities and third-party processor facilities handling inbound and outbound shipments. But GLN’s team had to continually execute certain moves through manual emails because the system couldn’t provide the right data.
The process often required team members to manually reach out to carriers with messages such as, “I have this many loads to pick up at this location. What’s your rate?” followed by confirmation and invoice requests. This inefficient, manual process affected a small percentage of operations, but the volume of these cases was steadily increasing, signaling an urgent need for a better solution.
In addition, the legacy TMS was based in Europe, resulting in constant communication delays
and a lack of a true support system. Emails were often the primary mode of communication, and live calls with the support team were rare. It took years before GLN secured a US point of contact.
A TMS that provides greater visibility and control
To select a new TMS provider, an internal team was formed to conduct evaluations, including demos and trials of alternative systems. This process was comprehensive, involving key stakeholders and representatives from the mills, who participated in demos and subsequent discussions.
One of the stand-out aspects of the Princeton TMX implementation was the quality of collaboration with their team through weekly meetings. Their key contact was thorough, regularly following up and ensuring no details slipped through the cracks. This level of attention to detail also meant that the system was properly and uniquely configured to GLN’s specific business needs.
Princeton TMX also provided immediate hands-on engagement from day one of the vetting and implementation process. A dedicated, responsive contact who truly understood their business was invaluable to the GLN team. The overall user experience, along with the system’s adaptability to their daily transportation management needs, laid the foundation for a more efficient, streamlined process across their organization.
“We chose Princeton TMX because they’re very easy to do business with, provide great communication and they provide the capabilities we need to manage our transportation operations effectively,” said Julie Martin, truck freight man-
ager, GLN. “Their TMS has given us much more visibility into our entire supply chain. It breaks things down simply but gives mountains of information compared to what we used to have available. I honestly don’t know how we worked so long without it.”
In-transit visibility with Princeton TMX
The introduction of in-transit visibility significantly improved GLN’s operations. Previously, once a load entered the system through SAP and was checked in at the mill, it would disappear from the work queue of pending shipments.
However, after the load was marked as loaded, GLN had no additional visibility into its status or work queues to track whether the load had been delivered. The in-transit tracking feature within the Princeton TMX TMS has provided visibility, allowing GLN to monitor shipments more effectively.
The system gave carriers new visibility of their rates, broke things down more simply, and gave more information than what GLN had available in their legacy TMS. This enhanced visibility has sparked interest across various departments, with team members frequently asking how to access and view specific information. Even the sales team has expressed interest in utilizing Princeton TMX to gain a better understanding of the data, asking how to arrange columns, filter for specific customers and more.
Enhanced visibility leads to better carrier scheduling and rates
Previously, GLN lacked insight and visibility into its carrier base, and the new TMS helped provide immediate benefits by enabling them to establish
issues – such as difficulties entering appointment dates or navigating other features – GLN can quickly assist and solve the problem.
accurate delivery windows for each load and quickly select the best carrier at competitive rates.
The Princeton TMX team helped GLN create a new formula for delivery reporting. In the past, they had assigned a delivery window and two dates on a shipment – ’earliest’ and ‘latest’ – but with the new TMS, they can assign a ‘planned’ delivery date for each load. The carriers were incredibly receptive to this change.
Additionally, the TMS eliminated the problem of some GLN users’ direct or single tendering loads out to some carriers without a rate in the system to pay the carrier. At times loads weren’t being matched to any rate or rates weren’t being negotiated or priced out appropriately, and carriers weren’t being paid for these loads on time.
This was especially difficult for Canadian-based carriers, as there had previously been many issues due to differing taxes, accessorials, rates, currency conversions and fuel surcharges from one country to another. These challenges led to frequent discrepancies in rate confirmations. For example, the system would generate a rate of $1,000 for a load, but the actual amount owed would be $1,500. The legacy system could not accurately reflect payments, creating ongoing frustration for carriers and the internal team alike.
Today, if a contracted rate doesn’t exist for a carrier, the mills cannot tender a load to that car-
This functionality has significantly reduced the need to involve external support teams for every carrier query. Instead, GLN can handle many of the more straightforward troubleshooting tasks internally and efficiently. The carrier access module, which allows GLN to see exactly what the carriers see, has been instrumental to improving response time and minimizing operational delays.
Additionally, the work queues within the TMS have proven to be extremely effective for organizing and managing these tasks, making them one of the most frequently used and highly beneficial features within the system for GLN.
Putting data to work for the supply chain
Princeton TMX’s TMS also integrates both third-party carrier management and private fleet management into one platform. This dual capability system not only simplifies the management process but also brings a host of benefits that can significantly enhance the operational efficiency of GLN. This integration is achieved through advanced technology that allows for real-time data sharing and synchronization between the two components. As a result, GLN can manage all aspects of its freight transportation from a single, unified platform.
Here are some key metrics that GLN now has access to through the new TMS:
• On-time delivery rate: The percentage of shipments delivered on time, providing insight into carrier reliability.
• Cost per shipment: The average cost of each shipment, helping to identify cost-saving opportunities and budget adherence.
rier unless they enter a spot rate. “The system has been immensely helpful for payment efficiency to carriers, and the work queues give us the visibility we need,” said Martin.
The Canadian carriers quickly adapted to the new system – with the new level of transparency, carriers could now see exactly how their rates were calculated and cross-check them against their expectations. This allowed both parties to make the necessary corrections early in the process in the case of an error, significantly reducing confusion and disputes.
A
better, more efficient relationship with carriers
The ability of the carriers to identify and correct any errors on their own has been a big benefit of the new system. GLN has seen a reduction in rate-related disputes, and carriers now fully understand what they are being paid for and how it is calculated, and this has improved trust in GLN’s processes overall and increased productivity for all parties involved.
The carrier access feature has also been an important tool for improving visibility and streamlining communication with GLN’s carriers. The previous system lacked the ability to provide support, but today when carriers encounter
• Carrier performance score: Carrier performance based on various factors such as delivery times, damage rates, and customer feedback.
• Transit time variability: The consistency of transit times, highlighting potential issues with delays or route inefficiencies.
GLN also has access to several helpful on-demand reports through the system, including:
• Profitability per load
• KPI year-to-date
• Load data
• Carrier scorecard
• Optimal tender lane performance
• Tender volume and spend
• Carrier cost
• 90-day average rate
• Fuel cost
• Rail pipeline
• Bad order overview
Collecting and organizing these data points requires the use of advanced tools and technologies within the TMS – the system can gather, process, and analyze data effectively, providing a centralized platform for all this logistics-related information. The future potential of this supply chain data is immense. As technologies continue
to evolve, so will the opportunities to enhance efficiency, reduce costs and promote sustainability throughout an organization’s operations.
For GLN, the real-time data tracking provides immediate visibility into their supply chain operations, enabling swift decision-making. This visibility allows them to monitor their supply chains as events unfold, leading to faster response times, reduced downtime and improved operational efficiency.
Realizing process efficiencies and boosting KPIs
GLN has realized several efficiencies using the TMS and has seen improvements in KPIs across the board. “It’s been amazing for visibility,” said Martin. “The system allows us to almost instantly troubleshoot any load issues ourselves internally, easier than before.”
Once a load is departed in the system, it shows as ‘in transit’, and access to real-time load data has allowed for timely, detailed delivery information to GLN’s customers without having to call carriers for updates.
In the future, GLN plans to have carriers use the TMS for any accessorial requests. The TMS can serve as the first point of contact to request any accessorial for approval, and the team will have the reporting to show every detail.
To date, the partnership with Princeton TMX has resulted in significant performance improvement in several key areas:
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• Improved visibility: The TMS established accurate delivery windows for each carrier and load, providing real-time visibility across the entire supply chain.
• Improved carrier reporting: Carriers can see any load, its status, and its rate. Improvements in carrier scorecard KPIs skyrocketed utilizing the TMS. Now, 100% of carriers are entering key data like planned and actual delivery dates.
• Enhanced payment and invoice management: Payments to carriers are more efficient, and GLN now has extensive reporting on all invoices.
• Actionable data points: Better visibility into inbound and outbound shipments and reporting data has enabled Gerdau to discover new optimi-
zation opportunities.
Partnering for ongoing improvement and evolution
GLN notes the ongoing drive from Princeton TMX to realize continuous improvement and evolve its solution alongside its growing customers.
“The team really goes above and beyond, whether it’s creating solutions to problems we bring them, or proactively bringing us new solutions, opportunities or strategies they’ve worked on with other customers that could benefit us,” Martin said. “They’re helping make our supply chain more strategic and data-driven. We have folks across our business asking to see the data that our TMS is showing us – it’s that valuable across our entire organization.”
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‘The dreaded word ‘tariffs’ was heard all too often...’
The SMS group, a technology services provider for the metals industry, has been contracted by Nucor Steel Alabama for a comprehensive modernization and expansion of its Steckel plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and speculation heats up about further steel tariff hikes by the new US administration.
By Manik Mehta*
THE focus of the Nucor project will be to transform the existing plant into a tandem Steckel mill, considerably enhancing the mill’s capacity and enabling it to produce high-strength thin strip. SMS group announced that an additional highperformance mill stand downstream of the existing stand would be installed.
According to initial details from SMS Group, both stands would be employed simultaneously for reversing roughing passes and finishing passes. The tandem arrangement of the stands would also allow the use of special work rolls in one stand to manufacture base plates and checker plates.
The modernization plan includes placing a looper between the stands to optimize the strip tension and assist with speed control. The existing entry and exit-side Steckel furnaces will be replaced with new, closed furnaces. SMS group has maintained that these “advanced furnaces are highly efficient at maintaining the right product
temperature and protecting the roller tables against heat radiation”. Improved furnace efficiency would reduce the system’s natural gas consumption.
The existing mill stand will be retrofitted with a new twin drive that ensures the top and bottom work rolls can be operated independently. The new mill stand will also be equipped with independent AC motors for driving the top and bottom work rolls, double reduction gears, and flat-journal drive shafts.
The SMS Group will handle the modernization of the electrical and automatic systems in the Steckel mill, including the main drives, sensors, measuring equipment and instrumentation, as well as the mill’s basic and process automation.
Nucor Corp is the biggest steel producer in the US.
The dreaded word “tariffs” was heard all too often during the election
* USA correspondent.
As I write this update, the Presidential election campaigning is in its so-called hot phase, with both candidates, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, aggressively courting voters and not shying away from personal attacks against each other.
In the battle state of Pennsylvania, the heartland of the steel industry, both declared their intention to protect local steel industry and the steelworkers’ jobs.
Both sides have also said they would not permit ‘dirty’ steel – the euphemism for carbon-polluted steel – from entering the US market. One way is to impose higher tariffs, if the tariffs already in place do not deter foreign suppliers who continue to dump heavily subsidized and polluted steel.
Most Asian steel suppliers have been making discreet enquiries with their business associates in the US about higher tariffs being imposed after the 5 November elections. Trump has openly declared that if he became President he would impose
even higher tariffs against steel imports; it was during Trump’s Presidency that the administration imposed a 25% import tariff on steel imports. President Joe Biden continued with the tariff, and while Harris has not clearly expressed that she would retain the present level of tariffs or hike them, she has declared that, if elected, she would preserve the local steel industry and jobs.
At a special event organized early October at the Korea Society in New York to discuss US-Korea Diplomatic and Economic Developments, former Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, when questioned, told Steel Times International that South Korea was not perturbed about the next administration, adding that “we do not know about future tariffs”.
Yoo, who as Korea’s former chief negotiator also led numerous bilateral and multi-lateral trade negotiations, including the Korea-US FTA amendment negotiations and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), pointed out that US-Korean economic ties were ‘flourishing’ and trade had increased by 74% last year; South Korea was also the largest foreign investor in the US with “50% of our outbound investment going to the US”.
Be that as it may, tariffs will be watched closely by Asian suppliers, including Japanese, Indians, Koreans and, of course, the Chinese.
Another subject that could play a crucial role in the post-election period is the fate of the North American free trade pact USMCA; Mexico has been criticized by US steel companies for becoming a haven to foreign steel suppliers, notably Chinese who have set up operations in Mexico from where the heavily-subsidized carbon-polluted steel is exported to the USA. Indeed, Lourenco
Goncalves, Cleveland Cliffs’ CEO, told me at a press conference on the sideline of the Global Steel Dynamics Forum (GSDF) in June in New York, that the “M” in the USMCA could even “disappear”.
The US steel industry is considered a backbone of the US economy. Kevin Dempsey, the president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), the US steel industry’s ‘mouthpiece’, confirmed in an interview with this writer at the GSDF, that the US will need more, not less, domestically produced steel. Both the Republicans and Democrats see a role for the administration to enforce trade rules and allow the industry to continue to compete on a level-playing field.
The Nippon Steel-US Steel acquisition saga continues
Both Trump and Harris have stated that they would like to strengthen the domestic steel industry and opposed the $14.9 billion acquisition bid made by Japan’s Nippon Steel to acquire US Steel. US Steel, they
emphasized, should remain in domestic hands and not be acquired by a foreign company.
If the Nippon Steel acquisition bid is rejected, the shareholders would have no choice but to revive the sale of US Steel to Cleveland Cliffs which had, in the past, tried – unsuccessfully – to buy out the company. But this could affect the overall competitiveness of the domestic steel industry, unionized labour, upstream supply chains with implications on mining of iron, coal and other materials used in steel production, downstream supply chain implications for steel-consuming industries, and many other issues.
US Steel may have lost its former glory of being a global heavyweight, but it is still an important domestic steel producer, ranking third in crude steel production only behind Nucor and Cleveland Cliffs.
Will US Steel be eventually permitted to tie up with Nippon Steel and get the much-needed shot in the arm in the form of investment, innovation and skillful management needed to significantly improve its productivity level?
Its supporters argue that Nippon Steel, if US Steel indeed falls in its lap, would help modernize US Steel’s production, and rejuvenate it with higher productivity levels in the US. Nippon’s investment, according to steel industry pundits, could bolster competition in the US steel industry, and increase its domestic steel supply, for instance, to US and foreign automobile production sites.
It remains to be seen who will eventually succeed – Nippon Steel or Cleveland Cliffs –in this much debated sale of US Steel whose fate will be closely watched. �
Acesita/Aperam: celebrating 80 years (Part 1)
Germano Mendes de Paula* covers the humble beginnings and rapid growth of Brazilian steelmaker Acesita, known today as Aperam.
COMPANHIA Aços Especiais Itabira (Acesita) was founded in October 1944, in the state of Minas Gerais, by Percival Farquhar (an American investor and financier), Athos de Lemos Rache and Amynthas Jacques de Moraes (both Brazilian entrepreneurs). Farquhar had extensive investments in Latin America, particularly in railways across Cuba, Guatemala, and Brazil. Indeed, he was recognised as the largest private investor in Brazil between 1905 and 1918. At the time of Acesita’s establishment, he was 79 years old.
Acesita was founded during the Second World War, which restricted steel imports. The company aimed to capitalise on the area’s rich iron ore deposits and meet the increasing national demand for high-quality steel. The choice of location for the plant was initially the city of Itabira, which was where Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (now known as Vale) began its mining activities. However, despite having large and highquality iron ore reserves, Itabira did not offer the necessary conditions for the steelworks to be built due to its irregular terrain and the scarcity of charcoal and water resources. In a search for a more suitable site, Timóteo, at that time a district of Antônio Dias (located approximately 60 kilometres from Itabira in a straight
line), was selected due to its favourable conditions. In 1945, Acesita acquired a farm in Timóteo for building the plant.
By 1948, the company was assembling its steel mill, rolling mill, and forge, and excavating for the Sá Carvalho hydroelectric plant to supply necessary energy. A milestone was reached in April 1949 when Acesita began operating its blast furnace, considered the largest charcoal-based furnace in the world with a 200t/day capacity. The inauguration of the forging department in August 1949 expanded production capabilities, allowing the company to produce pig iron and forged products by the decade’s end, even though steel production had yet to begin.
The 1950s
The 1950s brought new challenges and achievements for Acesita. In 1951, the company attempted to produce steel using the Bessemer process, though it was initially unsuccessful. Despite this, until the mid-1970s, the Bessemer process was kept in operation, mainly when the BOF was undergoing maintenance. In the same year, the Sá Carvalho hydroelectric plant was inaugurated, ensuring a reliable energy supply, while the first ingot was rolled. In 1952, significant changes occurred
both productively and corporately. A manual sheet rolling mill and the EAF #1 were commissioned, and the first billet was produced. A significant corporate shift occurred when Banco do Brasil, a stateowned bank and Acesita’s chief lender, took a controlling interest, transforming the company from private ownership to a stateowned enterprise, which remained until 1992, when it was reprivatized. After the company’s bailout, Farquhar relocated to New York City and passed away in 1953. Also in 1953, Acesita began new operations with EAF #1 and #2. In the following year, a shift towards marketing alloy-special steels over carbon steels began, aiming to reduce imports. With this goal in mind, in 1955, it signed an agreement with Walzwerk Newiges for the acquisition of equipment, technical assistance, and patents for producing silicon/electrical sheets. The Newiges furnace was launched in 1957, marking the first facility in Latin America to manufacture silicon/electrical sheets for motors and transformers. Aligning with president Juscelino Kubitschek’s industrialisation efforts, known as the ‘50 years in 5’ development plan, the forge started producing automotive parts. In 1959, EAF #3 began operations, and an oxygen plant was added. Thus, the 1950s
* Professor in Economics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. E-mail: germano@ufu.br
saw Acesita’s transition to steel production, including silicon/electrical steel, driven by a strengthened ownership structure.
The 1960s
The 1960s were a period of major transformation for Acesita. For instance, in 1962, an electric reduction furnace and a second silicon/electrical sheet treatment furnace became operational. A year later, a long rolling mill began production, making small and medium-sized bars, and marking the completion of the company’s first expansion phase by doubling its nominal capacity. In 1964, a sintering plant opened. However, the most significant achievement came in 1965 with the commencement of stainless steel production, which is today Acesita’s (renamed as Aperam South America) key product.
By the end of the 1960s, Acesita’s production capabilities had become quite diverse: a) the company produced pig iron using both a charcoal blast furnace and electric reduction furnace; b) it utilised Bessemer and electric arc furnaces in its steel shop; c) it manufactured flat and long
steel products with a stronger emphasis on alloy-special steels, like stainless and silicon/electrical steel products. Unlike CSN, Usiminas, and Cosipa, which were initially state-owned enterprises focused on large-scale coke integrated mills and flat carbon steel products, Acesita, owned by a
government bank, concentrated on niche market segments with its medium-scale, charcoal integrated plant. The enterprise’s development from the 1970s onward will be discussed in subsequent parts of this article. �
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Getting the balance right
Contending with increasing steel imports, and raw material shortages, India’s steel industry is attempting to find the balance between protectionist trade policies, and international co-operation.
By Dilip Kumar Jha*
INDIA , the world’s second-largest producer of steel after China, has been grappling with a significant increase in steel imports in recent years. Steel Ministry sources estimate a 41% rise in India’s steel imports, reaching 4.7Mt during April-September 2024. Notably, this figure is double the 2.4Mt of exports, as outbound shipments plunged 36% during the first half of the 2024-25 financial year (April-March). There has been a substantial shift in India’s steel trade trend over the past year. From being a net exporter by 0.3Mt during April-September 2023, with imports at 3.3Mt compared to exports of 3.6Mt, India shockingly turned into a net steel importer of 2.3Mt during the same period this year.
The surge in imports is attributed to multiple factors, including cheaper international prices, and robust domestic demand. As the steel industry plays a crucial role in India’s infrastructure development and economic growth, the government’s ongoing focus on the construction of housing and port projects, coupled with the swift completion of stalled roads and bridges, has raised steel demand in India by 14%, reaching 73.36Mt in the AprilSeptember 2024 period, compared to 64.20Mt in the comparable period last year.
A senior Steel Ministry official said,
Source: Joint Plant Committee, Indian government; *April-September
“India is facing tremendous pressure from imports, particularly from China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Global steel prices have been more competitive than Indian products, largely due to excess capacity in countries like China and South Korea. Indian manufacturers often find it more cost-effective to import than procure locally, especially in sectors like construction and automobile manufacturing. However, the Chinese government raised steel prices in September, providing some relief to Indian producers in terms of price competitiveness and imports.”
Industry concerns
Despite the government’s ambitious drive towards self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat), rising steel imports have sparked concerns among industry stakeholders. The domestic
steel industry has been facing intermittent shortages of raw materials, such as coking coal and iron ore. Although India has a large supply of iron ore, supply chain disruptions, logistics challenges, and exportdriven mining policies have contributed to higher input costs for domestic steelmakers. The influx of cheaper imported steel has created significant challenges for domestic producers, particularly small and midsized companies. Large steelmakers, while somewhat insulated due to their integrated operations, have also felt the pressure of low-cost imports undercutting domestic prices. This has raised concerns about profitability, job losses, and underutilization of capacity. Additionally, over-reliance on imports can undermine the long-term sustainability of India’s steel sector, making it vulnerable to global price fluctuations and
supply chain disruptions.
Meanwhile, China’s dumping of cheap steel is severely impacting Indian steelmakers. Domestic producers have been forced to cut prices to match the prevailing import price of Chinese steel. For example, hot rolled coil (HRC) is imported from China at INR 42,800 per tonne (excluding freight), while the benchmark metal from ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) nations is priced at INR 41,500 per tonne, compared to the domestic price quote of INR 47,700 per tonne.
Trade measures
Public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) chairman Amarendu Prakash stated, “India needs to impose tariffs on steel import for an even playing field for the domestic industry. Echoing a similar response, JSW Steel chief executive officer Jayant Acharya said, “The government should consider measures to combat rising imports, particularly from China and Vietnam.” ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India’s chief executive officer Dilip Oommen urged the government to double the import duty to 15% from the current rate of 7.5%.
One of the immediate options under consideration could be the imposition of higher import duties or anti-dumping duties on steel imports, particularly from countries where prices are artificially lowered due to state subsidies or overproduction. India has previously imposed such duties on Chinese steel products, and a similar strategy may be revisited. Another potential measure is the imposition of safeguard duties, a temporary trade barrier allowed under WTO rules, to protect the domestic industry from a sudden surge in imports. This would provide local steelmakers with a breather to adjust to market conditions without violating international trade commitments. The government could explore non-tariff barriers such as stricter quality checks and certification standards for imported steel. This would ensure that only high-quality steel enters the Indian market, providing a level playing field for domestic producers who adhere to stringent environmental and quality standards.
Trade measures being considered In response, the government is contemplating various trade measures
to safeguard domestic producers while balancing international trade obligations. Recognizing these concerns, the government has initiated consultations with industry stakeholders to explore options for trade measures that protect domestic steelmakers without violating World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations or alienating trade partners. India’s Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy said, “We will try to convince the Finance Ministry to raise the import duty to 10-12% from the existing 7.5% for the benefit of domestic producers.
The way forward
While India’s steel imports continue to rise, the government is caught between two priorities – protecting domestic industries and adhering to international trade norms. Any protectionist measures must be carefully crafted to avoid retaliatory actions from trade partners or disputes at the WTO. At the same time, India’s domestic steel sector needs to enhance its global competitiveness through innovation, modernization, and improvements in efficiency. �
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Green steel will turbocharge Ukraine’s recovery
The steel industry’s clean energy transition can enable new market creation and economic growth stimulation. Yet, the most efficient and feasible pathway to decouple the sector from fossil fuels remains unclear, particularly within emerging markets and unstable socio-political contexts. A new University of Oxford study by Alexandra Devlin1. , Vlad Mykhnenko2. and their colleagues provides a blueprint for reconfiguring plant locations and reallocating resources through a Ukrainian case study, which captures alternative post-war conditions.
MUCH of Ukraine’s pre-war steel production capacity has been destroyed. Reconstructing Ukraine will require vast amounts of steel, which should be locally produced to stimulate the postwar recovery and economic growth. The projected domestic demand for steel, in addition to perceived export demands for green iron and steel from nearby European markets, should provide the steady demand signal required for investment (Fig 1).
Rebuilding Ukraine’s ravaged steel sector –once hostilities cease – presents a golden opportunity to harness the long-term economic benefits of low- to near zero-
emissions steelmaking.
Before the Russian large-scale invasion, Ukraine was the 14th largest global steel producer, with 21.4Mt of steel output in 2021, two-thirds of which – $16 billion worth – destined for exports. Yet, the nation produces some of the world’s most emissions-intensive steel at 2.3 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel (t CO2/t steel) on average – the worst ranking of 17 studied nations and territories, responsible for 48Mt CO2 or 15% of Ukraine’s CO2 emissions in 2020.
Ukrainian steelmakers are deeply dependent on coal-based blast furnaces
(BF), and ongoing use of outdated openhearth furnaces (OHF), which have been substituted widely by the more efficient basic oxygen furnace (BOF). Of Ukraine’s total pre-war steel production, 76% stemmed from the BF-BOF route, 19% from the BF–OHF route, and 6% from the electric arc furnace (EAF) route. The average emissions-intensity for the iron ore-based BF route was 2.41 t CO2/t steel, and 0.77 t CO2/t steel for the scrap-based EAF route. Near zero-emissions or ‘green’ steel could offer a practical way forward towards the long-term climate neutrality goal that revitalises Ukraine’s economic activities and
supports its expanding defence industries. Green steel could also emerge as an export and investment catalyst, necessitating focused investment in adaptable and innovative production capacities.
Multiple factors favour Ukraine’s green steel potential: valuable iron ore resources, reasonable solar irradiation and wind speeds, large land mass, high-flowing rivers to support cheap hydropower, uranium resources to support nuclear power, low wages, and proximity to EU green steel markets via ports and railways.
The economic case for Ukraine using renewables in steel production is underpinned further by the impending European Union (EU) membership requirements. In the event of Ukraine’s accession to the EU, the country will become subject to the regulatory framework of the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), wherein the carbon price is currently established at around $100/t CO2 and is forecast to increase to $250/t by 2050, without any free allowances. Moreover, the ‘EU Green Deal’ targets
Fig 1. Ukraine steel demand projections, inclusive of exports, domestic consumption, and additional reconstruction needs, for the (a) Strong Recovery scenario (including full liberation and rapid EU accession), and (b) Slow Recovery scenario (partial liberation and slow EU accession), respectively. Exports are a combination of green hot briquetted iron (HBI) and green steel, expressed as steel equivalents, in Mt/yr.
commercialisation of near-zero emissions steel by 2030, and full decarbonization of the sector by 2050. This makes Ukraine’s steel decarbonization non-negotiable. Thus, Ukrainian steelmakers must prepare for this impending transition.
A variety of technologies within the steel production process can reduce industrial emissions. The simplest pathway forward to achieve decarbonization is to switch to scrap-based EAF production, and power operations using renewable energy. However, Ukraine’s end-of-life steel scrap resources are constrained by historical steel consumption, which may slightly increase over the coming decades, but are highly uncertain due to the effects of war (while the destruction has increased the quantity of end-of-life scrap resources, the radioactive nature would deem these resources futile). The country will still largely depend on iron ore-based steel production, which involves the harder-toabate iron production process. Three key decarbonization pathways lead sectoral innovation of ore-based production: (1)
green hydrogen-based direct reduction of iron (followed by EAF steelmaking; also known as H2-DRI-EAF), (2) direct iron electrolysis (followed by EAF steelmaking), and (3) carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), retrofitted to integrated BFBOF facilities. Currently, the most promising path forward is H2-based DRI production, a modification to the existing natural gasbased process, which is rapidly approaching commercialisation (expected by 2026).
High-quality renewable energy, that produces cheap CO2-free electricity and hydrogen, underpins the business case for green H2-based steel production. Though no clear consensus has formed in the literature so far regarding the best hydrogen carrier, green ammonia (NH3) is a viable potential derivative. To secure the immense quantity of zero emissions electricity and hydrogen required for green steel supply chains, green NH3 may become a critical supply chain mobiliser.
A spatially granular approach was undertaken to assess renewable energy and steel production potential. In Ukraine,
line thickness indicates trade volume) including transportation of green steel exports to ports.
as defined by the pre-2014 national boundaries, 73 possible iron and steel plant locations, and over 100 possible renewable energy production locations were considered at 1°×1° grid spatial resolution (about 111 km (latitude) x 73 km (longitude)). Electricity generation was decentralised – each grid could produce its own renewable power – while energy availability was interconnected – each grid could import electricity/H2/NH3 from other grids. A range of CO2 -free energy sources were considered – green commodities (electricity, H2 and NH3) could be sourced from onshore hybrid solar/wind, offshore wind, nuclear or hydropower plants (with availability constrained by available natural resources (in the case of renewables) and/ or existing assets (in the case of mature nuclear and hydropower).
Building on green H2-DRI-EAF optimisation modelling competencies from previous studies, this research includes
Fig 2. Cost-minimised results of onshore hybrid solar and wind plant energy products installed in 2050: (a) Levelised cost of firm electricity (in USD/MWh), plotted with existing solar and wind installations (markers sized according to capacity); (b) Levelised cost of continually supplied hydrogen (in USD/t H2); (c) Levelised cost of continually supplied ammonia (in USD/t NH3).
Fig 3. Optimised steel supply chains in 2050 under the Strong Recovery scenario: (a) capacity of iron and steel production assets (colour indicates technology and marker diameter indicates plant capacity), and (b) domestic supply chain flows (straight-line distances shown,
important extensions regarding energy source and technology diversification, supply chain integration, carbon policy economics, and existing asset incorporation. The model was repeated in 2030, 2040, and 2050 with physical asset inertia (i.e., carry-over of installed capacities), and cumulative natural resource consumption (affecting land availability, ore reserves, and metallurgical coal reserves). Two potential post-war geographies were assessed under scenario analysis – full restoration of the nation’s territorial integrity with rapid EU accession (Strong Recovery) and partial liberation with delayed EU accession (Slow Recovery).
To secure a reasonable share of Europe’s green steel market, a required levelised cost of steel (LCOS) less than or equal to $500–586/t was estimated. Favourably, Ukraine’s green LCOS range in ideal locations was calculated to be $440–600/t. The lower end represents H2-DRI-EAF production with firm electricity from hydro or nuclear power, where costs are minimised due to the fully depreciated assets of these mature energy projects (although for new builds, these energy resources may prove very expensive). At the pricier end, co-located H2-DRI-EAF production will cost around $587/t steel, based on cost-competitive continuous supply of electricity ($64/MWh) and green hydrogen ($3.31/kg H2), using new-build onshore hybrid solar and wind power (Fig 2).
The decoupling of iron and steel production with the switch from integrated BF-BOF production to separable DRI-EAF production introduces a critical export opportunity for Ukraine. In a decarbonized production system, cost-competitive green HBI is directly dependent on the price of CO2-free electricity. About 75% of the costs of steelmaking occur up to the point of iron production due to its energy-intensive nature. With electricity costs of $64/MWh (representing cost-competitive continuous renewables), the levelised cost of green HBI is estimated at $440/t. With cheaper firm electricity of $20/MWh, costs will reduce to $290/t which is very competitive with green HBI costs estimated for other ore-producing regions, for example, $395/t in South Africa, especially considering the reduced transportation costs. Tapping into high quality renewables, and supplementing with cheaper mature CO2-free resources (i.e. hydropower and/or nuclear power) is essential for HBI and steel cost reduction in Ukraine, and export market retention.
To transition to a green steel industry, no new fossil-fuel dependent furnaces should be installed. All new capacity must be near-zero emissions compatible – that is, operations that can reach near-zero emissions over time, given a reliable supply of CO2-free energy inputs. In the Strong Recovery scenario, in 2030, just 12% of existing blast furnace capacity continues operation, totalling 3.5Mt/yr iron capacity across three plants. About one-third of basic oxygen furnaces continue to be used to facilitate integrated BF-BOF production, totalling 5.1Mt/yr. To meet the production gap, 10.8Mt/yr of additional DRI capacity, and 7.2Mt/yr of additional EAF capacity (on top of the existing 3.8Mt/yr of existing EAF capacity) will need to be installed. By 2050 (Fig 3), across five brownfield and seven greenfield locations, ironmaking capacity will be completely H2-based, with steelmaking being distributed across the
following processes: 42% scrap-based EAF, 37% DRI-charged EAF, and 22% melter-BOF. With less than three decades remaining to 2050, early investment in low and near-zero emissions production technology is vital to support a smooth clean energy transition.
For a full green steel production transformation, Ukraine would require investment of $62 billion over 20 years. This capital injection would cover $45.9 billion for renewable energy infrastructure, $6.6 billion for energy storage, and $9.5 billion for iron and steelmaking furnaces, in addition to funds to recover and upgrade the supporting transportation systems.
The study stresses that a robust green steel sector in Ukraine would have ripple effects across the entire economy, for instance, through stronger supply chain links. In 2021, for every $1 invested in Ukraine’s basic metals industry, an additional $3.28 was generated elsewhere in the economy. Replacing coal as the main heating source in steel furnaces with renewable energy will radically accelerate economic growth. By 2050, a green steel pathway would generate up to $415 billion worth of gross value added (GVA) in total; or $164 billion (1.7 times) more than equivalent investment based on traditional coal-based steelmaking.
As a positive step forward, a recent commitment by domestic players (including Metinvest and ArcelorMittal) of $35 billion into the medium-term green steel transition strategy until 2035 means the outstanding amount needed would be much lower.
The vast destruction of Ukraine’s iron and steelmaking assets represents a stark opportunity to rebuild a thriving industrial sector which is independent of fossil fuels. Ukraine is well-positioned to supply European green steel markets, which will provide employment throughout the value chain, and deliver returns to the economy well beyond the original investments. �
Why should we electrify ironmaking?
Paul Kempler* discusses how electrochemistry has the potential to drive the steel industry toward a decarbonized future.
POUND -for-pound, steel and cement lead to less carbon-dioxide emissions than most other materials manufactured by humans. The production of silicon, aluminium, nickel, and copper are all more carbonintensive processes. On the other hand, steel is the only metal with production measured in billions of tons per year and the carbon emissions associated with ironmaking remains one of the largest unsolved problems facing governments working to bring these emissions to net zero. If we were to decarbonize ironmaking, leading to the production of ‘green steel’, the impact on carbon emissions would be similar to the impact of powering every passenger vehicle on the planet with clean electricity. Electric vehicles are seeing rapid growth in market adoption, so why can’t we yet purchase an electric vehicle made out of this ‘green steel’?
There are a few cleaner options available for steelmaking, but none yet proven that provide a pathway to zero carbon emissions this century. While steel is one of the most recycled materials on the planet, the pervasive presence of tramp elements within the recycling process means that some amount of primary ironmaking will always be necessary. Modern iron production facilities are gargantuan in comparison to early forges, but the basic chemical reactions for ironmaking haven’t changed much since humans began reducing iron oxides with coke produced from incomplete combustion of charcoal over 2,000 years ago. The fundamental reaction chemistry necessitates the
production of about a ton of carbon dioxide for every ton of iron produced. Thus, at least one new reaction for ironmaking is essential if we wish to continue to deliver iron to steelmakers and steel to consumers while simultaneously reducing our carbon emissions.
One option is to replace carbon-based reducing agents to eliminate carbon emissions. Hydrogen is a promising candidate, as it can be produced from water and clean electricity and the resultant emissions are primarily steam. There are already a few large-scale demonstrations of direct reduced iron production via hydrogen under construction; I expect these new furnaces to produce some of the first tons of ‘carbon-emissions-free iron’ for green steel production. The benefits of this approach is that the reactants (water, sunlight, wind) are present in large excess across the planet relative to the needs of the iron and steel industry, as are the oxidized byproducts (oxygen and then water). One unsolved challenge is that higher-grades of iron oxide ores are required for hydrogen furnaces, since the solid-state reduction of iron oxide does leave inorganic impurities in place.
My research group at the University of Oregon, has been looking for a more direct path to convert iron ores into metal. In our toolbox is electrochemistry, a scientific discipline focused on understanding and driving reactions using electricity. Electrochemistry, which has most notably been the science to enable rechargeable batteries, is the most scalable approach
to converting water into hydrogen fuel, and has long been used to prevent the rusting of steels via coupling to galvanic protection systems. Our electrochemical cells operate as a more extreme example of rust-prevention, where we apply sufficient driving force to convert iron oxides directly to iron metal. This circumvents the need for hydrogen production – or even a furnace –and produces a purified iron product that is ready for melting in electric arc furnaces.
The overall process takes in scalable reactants (salt water, iron oxides) and produces metal in a reactor operating at mild temperatures, lower than that required to brew a pot of tea. Moreover, we’re focusing on a design inspired by one of the largest industrialized electrochemical cells (the chlor-alkali process), which means that the components required for our reactor are already manufactured at large volumes. The scale of the iron and steel industry is immense, and any process which leverages existing supply chains has a builtin advantage in making an early dent in ironmaking emissions.
We chose our specific design before we ever produced a single gram of iron in the lab. Understanding that one of the most important attributes of steel is its low cost, we ran multiple economic models for chemical processes and energy-price scenarios, seeking to find a solution which matched the price of existing pig-iron. The only processes we identified that satisfied this condition were those that were thrifty with their electrons – that is, reactions which could produce multiple commodity
* Research assistant professor and associate director, Oregon Centre for Electrochemistry, University of Oregon.
chemicals with each electron passing through the circuit. This key attribute is the reason for the relatively low cost of caustic soda and chlorine produced in the chlor-alkali process, and we believe it could also lead to iron produced in our so-called ‘chlor-iron process’ being cost competitive with iron produced in blast furnaces. Although the ultimate scale for iron produced by this reaction is likely of similar scale to the existing chlor-alkali industry (~100Mt/yr), we expect that this cost-competitiveness is critical for enabling early market adoption of green ironmaking processes.
We are not alone in the search for a directly electrified ironmaking process. Iron oxide has been dissolved into acids and electroplated as a purified metal for well over 100 years. And the direct reduction of iron oxide to iron metal in concentrated caustic soda (similar to the reducing environment of our cell) was first reported by researchers at the Diamond Shamrock company in the mid-1900s. Most recently, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a molten oxide process which produces iron in a similar fashion to the way we produce aluminium, albeit at much greater temperatures and with the ultimate goal of making oxygen instead of carbon dioxide as the oxidized product.
Challenges and opportunities of scale-up
All these processes are enabled by electrochemistry and although each bear unique technical challenges to reaching the scale and energy efficiency of existing processes and hydrogen-based ironmaking processes, there are a few common themes. One benefit of electrochemical methods for ironmaking is that they are all effective methods of separating out the elements contained in natural ores, such that they are likely to have a broader ‘reaction scope’ for sources of iron in the earth’s crust. A common challenge is the fact that electrochemical reactors do not benefit from the same scaling relationships that reactors based on large tanks and furnaces have leveraged in the massive scale-up of the ironmaking process. This is because efficient electrochemical cells are constrained by the need for required narrow gaps between positive and negative electrodes, as well as practical limits on electrical power supply, such that scaling up is primarily achieved through repeated
production of identical modules. However, this modularity benefits from a different, empirical scaling relationship – Wright’s Law – which predicts a steady decline in capital costs with cumulative production. This will be essential if electrochemical cells are to ever compete with carbon-based ironmaking processes.
Almost every day, researchers on my team run small cells and reactors which convert powdered iron oxides into iron metal. In a typical experiment, we fill a reactor with a suspension of powdered hematite (reddish in colour, leaving crimson stains on pumps and wires throughout the lab), connect a power supply to a positive and negative electrode separated by a membrane, and then pass a current which causes particles to stick to the negative electrode surface where they begin to reduce. As the iron oxide particles release the oxygen atoms within the crystalline lattice, they liberate aqueous sodium hydroxide and a highpurity, crystalline layer of iron metal grows on the electrode surface. When the reaction is complete, the iron easily separates from the electrode. After weighing our reaction product and imaging the morphology we preserve it for further characterization or ship it off to our collaborators. The iron we produce is similar in its morphology and purity to the iron produced from a directreduced-iron furnace, so that in a full-scale process the product harvested from the reactor could be fed into an electric arc furnace, as part of a primary or secondary
steelmaking process.
Today, we produce iron at the gram scale and primarily use lab-grade iron oxide reactants. Thanks to generous support from the US Department of Energy and the office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy we are working to build a reactor producing iron at 1kg per hour while simultaneously expanding our reaction scope to abundant and low-grade iron oxide sources. We’re constantly looking for new sources of iron oxide to try in our reactor and beneficiation processes. If you are a mineral supplier looking for electrified alternatives, let’s talk.
It’s inspiring to me to see large teams of researchers, across industry, universities, and national laboratories work together to identify the most promising approaches for decarbonizing this and other industries. And I’m grateful to see governments around the world committing substantive support for fundamental and applied R&D on tough problems. Researchers today have the most powerful equipment ever available to humans for viewing materials transformations and these instruments will help us identify innovative approaches to manufacturing materials without concomitant carbon dioxide emissions. Inventing new processes for ironmaking is an unprecedented proposition in its scope and required pace and I hope to see the effort dedicated to this problem continue its growth until it rivals the ‘space race’ and other pioneering efforts that have risen to meet the moment. �
The future is bright
OVERALL, 2024 has been a good year for US electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers, who already have a 70-75% share of the US domestic steel market, and will likely continue to see that share grow (albeit at a somewhat slower pace) as new greenfield and brownfield capacity additions come online over the next few years.
This is quite different than what has been happening in most other areas of the world. In fact, Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) pointed out that according to the latest data from the World Steel Association, globally only 29% of steel is produced via EAFs.
But there is wide variance country by country, with Philip Gibbs, a senior equity research analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets, noting that Turkey is almost exclusively EAF, and some European
countries, like Italy, have a relatively high EAF share. China, which produces about half of the world’s steel, only has about a 10% EAF share, and India and Brazil also have a heavy tilt towards steel produced via blast furnaces.
This, according to Dempsey, is one reason American steel has among the
*North America correspondent, Steel Times International.
lowest carbon emissions intensity in the world. However, he admitted that another contributing factor is that US integrated steel mills are almost entirely fed by domestically sourced iron ore pellets as opposed to the carbon dioxide-intensive sintered ore used in much of the rest of the world.
Despite slowing demand over the last few years, electric arc furnace steelmaking in North America shows great resilience as the more sustainable process of choice, with new prospects approaching on the horizon.
By Myra Pinkham*
Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), said that depending upon the products that they produce, EAF steelmakers could be up to 75% less carbon emissions-intensive than integrated steel producers. He said that is because EAFs embrace a circular method of steel production, recycling ferrous scrap as opposed to an extraction method involving the mining of iron ore or coal.
“Also, US EAFs are powered with electricity that comes from an electric grid that gets greener and greener every year with increased use of natural gas and renewable energy sources. He also noted that most of his member companies have green steel or low-emissions product offerings that are either zero emissions or carbon neutral.
Ryan McKinley, a CRU senior steel analyst, noted that the growth of the US EAF market share has also been helped by the fact that EAF mills generally have a
lower-cost profile than their integrated mill counterparts.
The rate of the US EAF share growth, however, will be largely dependent upon the EAF’s ability to continue making inroads on certain end-use markets that are still largely dominated by integrated steelmakers, which largely produce steel using basic oxygen furnace (BOF) or blast furnaces.
US EAF steelmakers have definitely been making a concerted effort to do that, Bell said, maintaining that every year they have proven that they increasingly make every grade of steel needed by US companies, including advanced steels needed by the automotive, appliance and energy sectors, as well as for infrastructure and other projects.
The US EAF share, however, varies by steel product, Bell noted, with virtually all US long products, including reinforcing bars (rebar), merchant bars, beams, wire rod and mesh, produced using EAFs, while that is the case for about 85% of plate, about 50% of sheet and about 60% of tubulars.
That is likely to change partly due to market conditions, but particularly because of new production capacity – both new greenfield mills and expansion of existing facilities – coming online over the next several years. In fact, Bell said that not only is about 17 million short tons of new US EAF capacity expected to come online by 2027, but the Department of Energy has predicted that by 2050, only 10% of steel produced in the US will be made using a BOF process, with the rest being produced by EAFs or by a combination of EAFs and hydrogen-based production.
“As this represents a lot of new capacity, it is expected to have a transformational impact upon the market,” Felix Bello, a Fastmarkets steel analyst, declared. While much of this new capacity is for flat roll, Alexandra Anderson, a CRU senior steel analyst, noted that about 3Mt of new long product micromill production capacity –particularly for rebar and merchant bar – is expected to come online in 2025 and 2026.
However, John Anton, director of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s steel service said that new US EAF capacity has been coming online somewhat slower than had been expected, pointing to the delays that Steel Dynamics (SDI) experienced in ramping up its 3Mt/yr greenfield mill in Sinton, Texas. But Gibbs said it appears that much of its issues are dealt with, with SDI
stating that excluding scheduled downtime, Sinton was running at about 72% of its capacity in September and it is expected to achieve about 80% capacity utilization by the end of the year (with full availability coming online sometime in 2025.)
Gibbs also pointed out that Nucor’s new Brandenburg, KY, 1.2Mt mill, which was brought online earlier this year, continues to produce at a lower utilization rate than had been expected, largely due to softer plate demand, but also because of some debugging issues.
Also, while the US Steel Big River Phase 2’s 3Mt sheet mill is expected to be started up in the fourth quarter, CRU’s McKinley said he isn’t expecting that there will be any meaningful production there until the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Another big jump in US EAF production capacity will come from Nucor’s greenfield 3Mt/yr West Virginia sheet mill, which the steelmaker plans to start up by the end of next year.“This new capacity isn’t necessarily displacing other capacity, such as domestic blast furnace capacity or even imports’’, SMA’s Bell said. Rather, he said it will contribute to the modernization, electrification and decarbonization of the domestic steel industry, making the US steel industry, which is already the cleanest in the world, even better. And, as far as imports are concerned, they will be more driven by US trade and climate policy.
While it will not be absolutely linear, Gibbs said that the long term trend of US EAF steelmakers gaining market share will continue – at least marginally, especially if they keep making some inroads into the automotive market, and if there are some marginal curtailments of blast furnaces.
“EAFs can make any type of steel that is required for automotive applications,” Bell said. Previously there had been questions about whether the EAFs had the rolling mill and casting technologies necessary to produce the various widths and thicknesses needed, but Bell pointed out that new EAF capacity has technological advancements that could potentially help them to target that market.
The challenge, however, is making the automakers, who have traditionally bought their steel from the integrated producers more comfortable using EAF steel, S&P Global’s Anton pointed out.
KeyBanc’s Gibbs pointed out that even with their recent inroads, the US EAF share of the auto market has only been about
Every need has its right seal
Oil film bearing seals for back-up rolls in rolling mills
Specially developed seals are crucial at the inboard end of rolling mill bearings to separate roll coolant and bearing lubricant while keeping out contaminants.
New roll neck seals (TDE-PTV) and roll coolant seals (TFW-PTV) were created to retain oil within the bearing system and prevent coolant and contaminants from entering. Equipped with a PTFE
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25% and that has been almost exclusively in non-exposed sheet applications.
That being said, Anton said the nonexposed auto market has increasingly become one of the larger end-use sectors for certain US EAF steelmakers, including Nucor and SDI (with the latter of which expecting to make more inroads with its Sinton facility serving Mexican and southern US auto plants), noting that they have designed some of their new capacity specifically to go after that market.
But there are a number of factors affecting this move, Fastmarkets Bello said, including the changes that have been occurring in the auto market, including the transition from internal combustion vehicles to electric vehicles, the push for lightweighting and increased competition from aluminium and other materials.
Also, Anton said that even though they would like to do so, he doesn’t know if EAFs will ever be able to capture the exposed auto market, stating, ‘That is in the hands of the automakers,’ adding that while US EAF steelmakers feel that the auto OEMs should be looking at them, he isn’t sure that they will go that route. He said that unless they can do so, he believes that the current US blast furnace share is pretty safe.
KeyBanc’s Gibbs said that while blast furnaces will not go completely the way of the dodo bird, there could continue to be some closures, noting that there has been some talk of US Steel shuttering its Mon Valley Works.
He, however, predicted that the rate of blast furnace closures could be slower and more incremental than it has been in recent years. In fact, he pointed out that Nippon Steel said that if its acquisition bid is successful, it plans to invest in US Steel’s blast furnaces.
Meanwhile, some North American integrated producers have added or are considering adding some EAF capacity. That, Bell noted, has been most obvious with US Steel’s ‘Best of Both strategy’, including its new Big River Steel expansion. Canadian steelmaker Algoma Steel is also adding two EAFs. In addition, Gibbs noted that Cleveland-Cliffs is considering replacing its Middletown, OH, blast furnace using a grant from the Department of Energy with funds being allocated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
“One big question, however, is whether all of planned US EAF capacity will be
needed,” Gibbs said, observing that the US steel industry is currently modestly oversupplied with a capacity utilization rate of only about 73% as of mid-October, according to the AISI. This comes as some end-use markets, including certain construction sectors, have recently softened somewhat and such forward-looking indicators as the American Institute of Architecture’s Architecture Billings Index and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing purchasing managers index indicating continuing contractionary business conditions. That, Anton noted, could affect how quickly new EAF capacity will come online.
Nevertheless, some of the recent
Also, she said the mills could use more pig iron, direct reduced iron (DRI) and other alternative iron units.
“There had already been some expectations that EAFs would use more alternative irons to achieve the quality they needed to crack the automotive market,” Anton pointed out, noting that despite that, little if any new DRI production capacity has been added recently. “But if scrap availability tightens up and scrap prices run up, companies will make moves to increase their DRI production.
Anton said that overall, 2024 was a good year for the US EAF steel industry, with domestic producers doing a masterful job of not overproducing and creating a
stasis could be seasonal in nature, CRU’s Anderson said, with the potential for construction, particularly infrastructure construction, to pick up next year. Bell agreed, noting that legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) bipartisan infrastructure bill, the IRA, and the CHIPS & Science Act, will bolster steelintensive demand.
The availability of ferrous scrap once this additional EAF capacity comes online is cause for concern.
Anderson said that it is very likely that domestic scrap availability will tighten up, however, at the same time, US recyclers will likely export less of their obsolete scrap and utilize new technologies developed to create higher grades of shredded scrap.
surplus. Nevertheless, McKinley said that it has been a more difficult year than the past two years given the somewhat softer demand. But, even though some of the current supply/demand challenges will continue to exist, things should start to improve next year, given expectations of decent macroeconomic growth. However, he noted that the rate of improvement will depend upon whether the growth in domestic new domestic EAF capacity outpaces the increase in demand.
Over the long term, the SMA’s Bell said that he believes the future of USA’s EAF steel industry is bright, maintaining that it is an established, proven, highly commercialized way to make lower emission steel. �
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WHAT THIS YEAR’S ATTENDEES HAD TO SAY…
“Very well organized event with a good line of speakers focused on digitalization and decarbonization.”
“Great immersive atmosphere and excellent platform to learn and network.”
“Unique blend of upcoming technologies, challenges and the latest innovation in digital transformation for the iron and steel industries.”
“A good mixture of high-level presentations, panels and networking opportunities at an excellent location.”
CEO Blastr Green Steel GravitHy
Catherine Hill* attended the annually held UK Metals Expo in Birmingham, West Midlands, which heralded the beginning of a new political and industrial era.
FOLLOWING 14 years of leadership under the Conservative party, with five successive prime ministers (one of which, Liz Truss, who with a tenure of just 44 days, became the shortest serving prime minister in British history) the political environment within the UK has been, in immediate public memory, at the best of times turbulent, fractured, and divided, and at its worst – in a state of deep socio-economic crisis. As the saying goes, however, all things come to an end, and it was on this note that the third annually held UK Metals Expo began, with a keynote speech from Chris McDonald, Labour member of parliament for Stockton North, one of the 411 seats the party now commands since the July election.
McDonald has a decorated past in the context of the steel industry; having been born in the industrial hub of Hartlepool, and following his position at British Steel, receiving a sponsorship to study chemical engineering at Cambridge University. In 2014, he led the divestment of Tata Steel UK’s research and development centre in Grangetown, which would form the independent Materials Processing Institute, becoming its CEO, in which role he would later secure a £3 million investment from the Tees Valley Growth Deal to build the Institute’s SME Technology Centre. It was unsurprising, then, that McDonald immediately emphasised the connection between politics and heavy industry, stating that his commitment was ‘to metals in the UK’, which he felt required a ‘great industrial strategy’. ‘‘Metals has defined how the human race has developed,’’ McDonald said; ‘‘we are increasingly reliant on critical minerals upon which the human race has developed’’. The thorn in the side of the industry, McDonald felt, could be summated in the existence of a trifecta of powerful cultural misconceptions; an ‘overreliance on comparative advantage,’ which he believes is an ‘unambitious theory’, the idea that politics is about
New party, new rules
‘picking winners’, and should duly reject any sectors that are seen to be stalling economic growth, and the rejection of the government’s role in shaping business investments. This, McDonald concluded, is a ‘deeply ingrained position – and must be challenged.’ ‘‘There is a culture and mindset that both think Britian is special, but is also unable to compete’’, he added, referring to the ongoing push and pull tension between globalisation and protectionism that has defined the political climate within the UK for decades. This, with the addition of notions of national pride, and the rising tides of anti-immigration sentiments, demonstrated in the recent success of the right-wing Reform party, has created a complex atmosphere particular towards heavy industry; that which remembers the gilded era of industrialisation, but has also been party to its decades-long decline. The idea that Britain is in a losing race, said McDonald, must be challenged–‘deindustrialization isn’t inevitable,’ he stressed, ‘it is a choice’. With the Labour party now holding the power to make such choices, McDonald summarised that it was a time for cautious optimism, with the
*Assistant editor, Steel Times International.
party’s manifesto having ‘industrial strategy at its heart’. Two months into his role, McDonald ended his speech by referring to his personal goal; ‘‘My mission is to build a cross-party consensus across parliament – investments should be longer term, not just while one party has power’’. With a growing chasm over political ideology between the parties, spirited co-operation seems increasingly far-fetched – yet in the eyes of the current government, industry appears to be the expectant bridge to cross the gaps between belief and reward.
The next session to be presented in the Supply Chain, Trade, and Policy theatre was the so-named ‘State of the UK Metals Industry’. Hosted by UK Metals Council chair, Rachel Eade, the session’s focus was on unpacking the findings of the eponymous ‘largest survey conducted within the metals supply chain’. Eade wasted no time in establishing the key conclusion of the survey, which she described as an ‘overwhelming sentiment of resilience’. ‘‘As much as we follow and develop trends,’’ Eade said, ‘‘most of our companies are longstanding’’. The survey did not only shed light on the advantageous
plainly stated, ‘is that you can’t stop using it’’. ‘‘The lack of visibility [SME’s] have had going forwards, as well as the lack of holding the larger energy companies to account is very painful – and the money lost is money we can’t invest’’. Steve Morley, president of the Confederation of British Metalforming, echoed DaviesChinnock’s concerns, adding that the UK ‘needed to learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in terms of how we safeguard our energy economy.’ Referring to the
attributes of the industry, however, as Eade went on to refer to the key issues raised within its findings; ‘talent acquisition and retention, energy pricing, and a lack of advisory support. Noting the first example, concerns of ageing workforces are not rare to the dialogue within the steel industry. Steelmakers have been urged to consider an incentive standard initially set by Silicon Valley classmates such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft, as both millennials and Gen Z have shown a propension, or indeed expectation, of perks ranging from unlimited snacks and drinks, and on-site masseuses, to discounted gym memberships and company contributions toward childcare. It’s not only about the corporate benefits, however, as the industry is also facing a media battle – to transform the public image of dirty smokestacks and heavy lifting, into that of a diverse, techdriven workplace. This issue, said Eade, was by no means new – and was proving increasingly complex to address. Opening up the conversation to the panelists, Eade began by naming the issue of energy, inviting Kirsty Davies-Chinnock, managing director of Professional Polishing Services to share her interpretation of its impacts. ‘‘The problem with energy,’ Davies–Chinnock
‘sixteen layers’ of personnel that energy passes through between its sourcing, and consumption, Morley emphasised the opacity created through the multiple networks; ‘profit is made at every stage, it needs to be regulated.’ As the conversation shifted to the industrial effects of current legislation, Morley lamented the lack of members of parliament who ‘understand manufacturing, and the importance of it to the economy.’ ‘‘Our job’’, he said, gesturing toward the panel, ‘‘is to make sure new members of parliament understand it, because of the importance we have to the economy.’’ Jonathan Dudley, head of manufacturing industry at Crowe, recalled an occasion last July, in which he and Morley ‘educated the government about what the CBAM was – they had no idea’. Davies-Chinnock reiterated Dudley’s comment, adding that ‘CBAM is an example of this lack of [political] preparation, no one knows where the money is going.’ The CBAM, which will be introduced in 2027, is a domestic carbon leakage mitigation measure, consisting of a carbon price on some of the most emissions-intensive industrial goods imported to the UK from the aluminium, cement, ceramics, fertiliser, glass, hydrogen, iron and steel sectors. Since its public introduction via a number of governmental statements, as
well as the initiation of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, following the UK’s departure from the EU (which runs its own emissions trading scheme), there has been a considerable amount of speculation regarding the calculations of prices, as well as the end destination of any collected sums. In Dudley’s eyes, the solution to the ongoing lack of government-to-sector communication, is consistent dialogue, not only to OEMs, but the entire supply chain–as well as a ‘champion’, as he glanced toward the space in which McDonald stood, who ‘totally understands the implications of what this all means’.
In the aptly termed ‘Big Issues Theatre’, Seamus Nevin, chief economist and acting director of policy at Make UK chaired the session: ‘Made in the UK: Myth or Reality?’ The answer to the session’s titular question, said panelist Rowan Crozier, CEO of Brandauer, was that ‘made in the UK is a reality’. ‘‘It’s ridiculously difficult to do, however’’, he hastened to add, ‘‘to make sure you’re in the position to secure and deliver that growth’’. Philippa Oldham, stakeholder engagement director at the Advanced Propulsion Centre reiterated Crozier’s statement, furthering that the ‘capability we have in the UK is key.’ ‘‘It’s about how we seize the momentum’’, Oldham said. ‘‘The supply chain is critical as we transition to net-zero.’’ The topic of industrial strategy once again reared its head, with Nevin referring to the ‘cornerstones of the Labour party’s manifesto’, and Timothy Stock, head of green industrial strategy at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), a ministerial department of the UK government established in 2023 under Rishi Sunak’s premiership, citing the new government’s ‘far more interventionist approach’ to the sector. Stock, who in his previous appearance at the expo, had been working within a Conservative government, nodded toward the multiplied variations in political approach following UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s appointment, which he felt was best represented in a general attitude of being ‘more clear-eyed’ about supporting the industry, as well as maximising opportunities. The recent transition period from one political pole to the other enacted following the July election, has only further drawn to light what has long been publicly portrayed as the steel industry’s slow, painful decline; a culmination of a decades-long oscillation
between nationalisation, and privatisation, ending in the re-privatisation of British Steel in 1988. Cities and towns once nourished by industry, have become sites of memorabilia; with their industrial past predominantly visible in the presence of museums and historical sites, rather than actual steel plants, and downstream manufacturers. This context of industrial insecurity is paralleled by what Nevin referred to as a political state of ‘chop and change’, with ‘15 different ministers having been responsible for industrial policy in the last 14 years’. This Nevin said, highlighted a significant need for ‘commitment from the current government.’ Stock furthered Nevin’s point by raising the subject of ‘Great British Energy’, a proposed British governmental investment body and publicly owned energy generation company that has been announced as part of the Labour Party’s plans for energy policy. While initially seeming to herald a return to the nationalisation politics formerly driven by the Labour party in the early-to-mid-20th century, the conditions of the company are a little more complex. Great British Energy will not, says reports, supply electricity directly to households. It will instead work with the private sector to co-invest in emerging energy technologies. Much of the party’s rhetoric surrounding policy, given the nascent stages of its leadership, remains foggy, and even misleading. However, as emphasised by Nevin, ‘we have still seen a significant change in how the government works; a mission-led approach’, often contextualised via the 1968 moon landing, in which the strategy of the objective was overridden by the objective itself; in other words, former US president John F Kennedy didn’t describe NASA’s approach, but instead said; ‘we choose to go to the moon’. The implications of this upon the steel industry are still being made apparent,
but the manner in which the government communicates and addresses particular industrial goals will either serve to prepare its sector further, or complicate and opacify the terms and timelines that underpin any sector-wide decision making.
Later in the day, Jon Bolton, chairman of the Materials Processing Institute kickstarted the seminar ‘How can the UK metals industry decarbonize and achieve net zero’, by highlighting the need to move toward EAFs in a ‘responsible way, that doesn’t damage the business case.’ ‘‘We have a huge network that has not been utilized, the technologies are there, but they just need to be scaled up’’. Ashok Kumar, head of strategic technical development at Tata Steel UK commented on the current industrial pathway toward decarbonization in the UK, stating that the ‘big step which the UK has now planned is to use scrap, and get away from primary ironmaking’, which, he believed, is a ‘logical step’. On the subject of scrap, Kumar felt that it would hold an increasingly crucial place in the future of British steelmaking, commenting: ‘if you take a global picture, there is about 650–700Mt of scrap today, that is going to double by 2050. There will be a lot of steel that comes via that route.’ However, Kumar added that the often abstract, and misused territory of terminology such as ‘green’, and ‘decarbonized’ presented a ‘difficult tale’, in which companies needed to avoid manipulating the muddiness of such terms to form excuses of ‘how [net zero] won’t happen or will happen slowly’. The achievement of sector-wide transformation, said Kumar, would be the result of a carefully planned corporate investment; a host of technologies such as carbon capture, electrification, and bio-carbon. ‘‘Simple initiatives’’, he added, ‘‘such as recycling better, and paying more
attention to the improved segregation of metals such as copper, tin, and nickel,’’ will pay off in the long term, creating further room for innovation. Chris Williams, head of industrial decarbonization at Industry Wales, emphasised the need for continued policy development around CCUS, lambasting the fact that ‘the UK makes it the hardest out of any European country to electrify.’ ‘‘The government needs to understand how to make this happen’’, Williams said, signalling not only to the basic requirements of change, but the urgency in which it needed to take place. Matthew Watkins, principal analyst – carbon steel at CRU, and session chair, closed the panel by referring to the perpetuated cultural notions of British industry; ‘the UK is an island, but it’s not a vacuum.’
Throughout the expo, talk abounded of what, on Day 1 of the conference, was breaking news; the government’s announcement of a £500 million subsidy to be granted to Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant. The subsidy will go towards the cost of building an electric furnace to replace the plant’s two blast furnaces, of which one has already been shuttered as part of the transition. The decision has not been without its fair share of controversy, however, with trade unions such as Unite condemning what it referred to as the ‘destruction of another key component of our critical national infrastructure’, and strikes having been planned prior to the confirmation of further negotiations. Criticism has continued throughout the talks, and following the government’s latest announcement, boiled over from the industrial domain, into a state of public discourse, as a number of columnists discussed the implications of the funding. In a recent Times article, titled ‘Bailing out Tata Steel is pointless nostalgia’, writer
Emma Duncan described the steel industry as ‘declining’, and censured the decision to ‘bung money’ toward the sector, saying that the decision ‘would justify public investment only if we have reason to believe we have a long-term future in the business; but we lack any particular advantage in steel.’ The Financial Times also covered the subject with the report; ‘Is there a future for steelmaking in the UK?’, which, while being less acutely disparaging, referred to the disagreement within the industry over ‘how big a concern it is that the UK could lose its ability to make virgin steel, or steel from raw materials’, adding that ‘much will depend on the quality and mix of materials going into the electric arc furnaces’. In one of the final sessions of the day, From Blast to Arc: A new world of EAF steelmaking in the UK and what it means, panelists considered the variety of opportunities and challenges presented in the UK’s transition to low-emissions steelmaking, with Chris Vaughan, technical director at British Steel, citing the reasons for the shift; ‘policy, public perception, and customer base.’ ‘‘EAF is not the only technology for decarbonization’’, Vaughan said, ‘‘but from a UK standpoint it is. You have to consider infrastructure, raw material access etc. EAFs are proven technology, and we have to capitalise on this.’’ Speaking on the allotted government funding, Paul Wheeler, head of process sustainability at Tata Steel UK, stated that the subsidy would be ‘transformative’, from both a business standpoint, as well as an instigator of sustainable impacts. Giving further details on the hottest topic within the UK steel industry, Wheeler presented the company’s plan for a decarbonized transformation. ‘‘[Tata Steel] will be deploying an EAF at Port Talbot, but also enhancing the current
processes (hot and cold rolling, pickling). 2–2.5Mt of domestically sourced scrap will be used annually for steelmaking’’, Wheeler said, marking a significant increase in present proportions (which are mostly exported), as well as 75% of raw materials to be sourced from the UK, replacing 7Mt of imported iron ore and coal. Overall, Wheeler concluded, the modifications made throughout the value chain will result in a 90% reduction of CO₂ emissions overall. The company plans to begin construction on the EAF in the summer of 2025, reaching project completion by 2028. According to Wheeler, Tata Steel is considering a range of strategies to reduce emissions; ‘low carbon metallics, the use of renewable carbon, renewable energy, green hydrogen, and CCUS’. ‘‘All these technologies will play their part,’’ he said, adding that ‘‘it comes down to a mixture of cost and regulation to allow plans to form’’. Session chair Gareth Beese, principal consultant at CRU, then handed the floor to Gareth Stace, director-general of UK Steel, to voice his interpretations of the transition. Stace revealed a sense of unadorned admiration for the decisionmakers, as he applauded what he called the ‘biggest investment that the UK steel sector has seen in decades.’ ‘‘We have a government that totally sees the needs of the sector, and [following the announcement] we have evidence of that understanding. I hope we will have a much brighter future following this news.’’ Yet, as Stace continued, the £500 million golden ticket was not totally representative of smooth roads ahead, as he referred to the issues of energy pricing (‘we’re still paying 50% more than France or Germany’), lack of driven local demand, and global overcapacity. ‘‘We have to be as competitive as possible to compete with
other global sectors,’’ Stace said, calling to mind a repeated, implicit sentiment throughout the exposition; that of an economic consciousness driven toward protectionism, and somewhat troubled by the effects of globalisation. The shift from blast furnaces to EAFs represents a political pivot that in many ways, reveals threads of anxieties around the UK’s position in the international market, far removed from its colonial heyday of ‘conquer and rule’, now seemingly struggling in between feelings of lost nationalistic identity, and the ticking presence of time.
In many ways, it is impossible to extrapolate the steel industry from politics, as government investment, policy, and infrastructure intersects with economic capacity, and corporate decision making. With a new constitutional era marking the third UK Metals Expo, sentiments of cautious optimism were omnipresent; the Labour party had promised an industrial strategy that would ‘get Britain building’, and ‘greenify the steel industry’, restoring hope in what had long been publicly considered as a sector in decline. It remains unclear, perhaps partially a result of the mission-led approach, how the lofty goals will be achieved – and it is of no small consequence that the race in which the UK is now attempting to re-enter, functions with vastly different rules. The global market holds new frontrunners, and teaching an old dog new tricks, while not totally impossible, will require flawless judgement, unwavering commitment, and unquestionably– a hefty measure of financing. �
The next UK Metals Expo will take place on 10-11 September 2025.
Anti-wear copper staves in blast furnaces
This article describes equipment in operation since August 2019 and compares performance against a traditional design of stave. The authors describe a newer stave design and its technical and commercial benefits over other designs, supported by operational data. By Edward Long* and David Osborne**
IN a blast furnace, copper staves are often used to protect the shell in the highest heat zones. These staves are in turn protected from the abrasive burden material by freezing semi-molten material onto the stave face, forming a skull and preventing wear. The stability of this skull is, therefore, essential to achieving a long stave life which consequently allows a longer and more stable blast furnace campaign. Primetals Technologies has developed a solution which traps burden material at the front of the stave while still allowing liquids through to the copper face – the result is a more stable skull and improved overall process stability.
An important factor in extending the life of a blast furnace operating campaign has been the quality and durability of the furnace shell protection technology. As demands on productivity have increased, more reliable protective cooling systems are required in order to ensure that the structural integrity of the blast furnace is maintained.
From the mid-to-late 20th century, use of copper plate cooled refractory was the predominant technology however, limited campaign life and the requirement for midcampaign repair led to the development of stave cooling. Initially the cooling solutions developed in Russia and Japan used cast iron staves. This solution provided more consistent campaigns which generally lasted around 10-12 years. In parallel with these emerging concepts, plate-cooled solutions were improved by increasing the plate density and improving the refractory quality.
The 10-12-year life in the high heat load areas of the cast iron stave-cooled furnace then emerged as a limiting factor and copper staves were introduced to enhance the heat removal capabilities and improve furnace campaign lengths. This provided the capability for campaigns of 15-20 years. In many plants, copper staves have proven reliable in protecting the structural integrity of the blast furnace shell. Copper staves gradually became a more popular
solution during the late 1990s. With more installations and increased operational time, a number of furnaces reported wear of the stave hot face resulting in water leaks into the furnace from the exposed internal cooling channels.
Primetals Technologies first provided copper staves to both blast furnaces on the reference site in 2011 for the bosh, belly and lower stack and a full set of cast iron staves in the tuyere zone and mid-upper stack. After 10 years, both blast furnaces underwent intermediate repairs around the tuyere area to replace portions of furnace shell from the mid-1990s. This provided the opportunity to replace some staves and install the world’s first wear-resistant stave on blast furnace No.1.
Discussion
The focus during the 1980s when trial copper staves were first installed into blast furnaces was very much on the hot face of the stave and how it was performing. It was observed that the stave successfully froze
*Product owner–blast furnace staves, Primetals Technologies **Blast furnace technology director, Primetals Technologies.
a self-protecting accretion layer to the hot face of the stave which gave confidence in using copper in the high heat zones to achieve a longer operating lifetime than with cast iron.
Along with the perceived benefits, a number of issues have been highlighted which can prevent the copper staves forming this self-protecting layer, meaning the surface of the stave becomes prone to wear from the raw materials within the
blast furnace:
• Incorrect furnace profile/lines
• Furnace process and position of cohesive zone
• High rates of reductant injection
• Lack of burden permeability due to furnace charging patterns and/or
• Poor burden quality
The use of copper staves requires a trade-off between advantages of improved thermal properties versus the management of a soft metal. When the copper is exposed to the descent of abrasive material it is susceptible to wear. In areas where a stable accretion layer is present, the stave will be shielded from the wear, but in colder sections of the blast furnace or if the hot gas cannot reach the stave, no accretion is likely to be formed. This latter challenge often forces operators to run “hot” by maintaining a minimum heat load to areas
of the furnace, which can increase fuel rate.
In addition to operating temperature, the profile of the blast furnace must be carefully considered. Should an incorrect stack or bosh angle and/or height be utilised it is again possible that the copper staves will suffer increased rates of wear due to compression of solid materials at the stave. These forces are generally at their highest around the root of the cohesive zone.
The design of the hot face of the stave can, therefore, have a significant impact on the stave’s ability to form a protective layer. If a ‘stone box’ effect can be built into the design, then the stave has additional protection against abrasive wear. The traditional stave design contains a series of horizontal grooves along the hot face to promote the accretion build up, however it is difficult for this design to act as a ‘stone box’.
The traditional horizontal groove design seen in Fig 1 (left) was initially adopted from cast iron stave designs and had the benefit of being a simple shape to machine. In recent years the question has been raised – is this the most suitable design? Manufacturing techniques have changed significantly since the first copper stave which has allowed designers more flexibility in hot face layouts. Modern CNC machining gives the designer greater flexibility which allows for a variety of options for the stave’s hot face. A number of concepts were assessed by Primetals Technologies and it was determined that the hexagonal pattern shown in Fig 1 (right) has the ability to
Fig 1. Traditional stave design (left) and wear resistant stave design (right)
Fig 2. Wear-resistant stave designs as either pocketed (left) or ‘slide-in’ (right) options
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promote the retention of solid material in addition to the build-up of the protective slag accretion. In Fig 1 (right) pockets are machined in the stave hot face and wearresistant inserts are installed to form the hexagonal pattern.
To prove this concept, a 1/10 physical scale model was built to demonstrate the relative increase in material capture between a traditional design and this new stave design.
These results have been independently replicated by an end user through Discreet Element Modelling (DEM) of the stave design. In addition to validating the results of the physical model, DEM has promoted an even greater understanding of the impact of variation in the hexagonal spacing.
As an alternative to machining a hexagonal pattern into the hot face of the stave, ‘slide in’ wear-resistant inserts can be installed in the horizontal grooves
of a traditional stave hot face to provide the same results. The pocket and ‘slide-in’ designs are shown in Fig 2
Discussions with the reference plant to trial the pocketed stave began in 2018 and it was initially planned to install the stave on BF-2 in 2020. However an accelerated manufacturing programme allowed installation on BF-1 a year earlier. The location of the stave in the uppermost row of copper staves was specified by the customer due to the requirement to replace one of the staves in this row.
Operating data
In order to compare the new stave design with traditional staves, a ‘comparison stave’ was installed next to the hexagonal variant – both staves were equipped with instrumentation to allow the stave operation to be understood:
• Inlet & outlet water temperature measurement
• Stave ‘fixed pin’ temperature measurement
• Stave water flow measurement
• Insert temperature measurements (hexagonal stave only)
• Stave body temperature measurement (hexagonal stave only)
Temperature measurement of the hexagonal inserts were used to identify the temperature and condition of the inserts – increasing temperature would suggest that the insert was wearing and loss of signal would indicate an insert was worn down to the thermocouple position (~20mm from the insert hot face) or lost due to mechanical failure. Operating data since the blow in of the blast furnace shows no upward trend of temperatures during operation. This indicates that the inserts remain in place and show no obvious signs of wear.
Fixed pin temperature measurements from the hexagonal and comparison stave were used to determine the relative stability of the protective (insulating) layer on the two stave designs. Operating data (see Fig 3) shows that during unstable or more erratic periods the traditional stave temperature peaks significantly higher than the hexagonal stave temperature with the difference between the staves during stable operating periods being measureable but less.
The assessment of accretion formation and stability was also carried out by determining the heat flux to the cooling water system based on water flows and temperature increase. The operating data identifies a consistently lower heat flux with the hexagonal stave. The difference between the two staves is more pronounced during unstable operating periods and represents an opportunity to reduce fuel consumption and maintain burden temperature during instabilities.
The fact that the hexagonal stave with a more stable accretion removes less heat from the blast furnace than the comparison stave brings a measureable advantage. By extrapolating this difference to the remainder of the copper stave-cooled areas of the blast furnace (i.e. assuming all the copper staves had the wear-resistant solution) a possible coke saving can be estimated. Separate coke savings have been derived for periods of stable and unstable operation with a full year’s data being used to develop an average. Table 1
Fig 3. Fixed pin temperature data for trial (hexagonal) and comparison stave.
Fig 4. Heat flux data from trial (hexagonal) and comparison stave.
The coke savings above are published as a range, as the exact value will depend on a number of factors, for example the quality of the coke or the size of blast furnace.
The operating data in Figs 3 and 4 show a pause in operation due to a hearth issue. During this time a visual inspection of the comparison and hexagonal stave was carried out. The inspection showed that after approximately 30 months of operation the inserts remain in position and do not show signs of wear – something that is supported by the insert temperature measurements.
Conclusions
Wear of copper staves has frequently been encountered by blast furnace operators around the world. There are a wide variety of causes of wear which have led Primetals
Technologies to develop a stave which offers greater wear resistance than currently adopted designs. Operating feedback from the world’s first hexagonal copper stave has shown that:
• The hexagonal stave develops a stable self-protecting layer and the cast iron insert pieces have not worn since coming into operation.
• The duration and magnitude of heat load peaks to the cooling system can be reduced.
• The lower heat losses to the cooling circuit could lead to a reduction in fuel rate.
Primetals Technologies has now completed the patent applications in a number of territories worldwide based on both the pocket and a slide-in variant of this design. This led to the first full installation
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Table 1. Heat removal from trial (hexagonal) and comparison staves over two years.
Using limestone chips for steel refining in a ladle furnace
The addition of limestone instead of calcined lime during arcing in a ladle furnace results in a decrease in power consumption averaging 6% and reduced energy consumption by in-situ calcining of limestone to lime during arcing. This reduction in power and energy consumption leads to the lowering of total annual emissions of CO2 in a three ladle station of 1566 tonnes, as well as creating improved alloy takeup and lower sulphur levels by reducing the quantity of FeO and MnO in the ladle slag.
By Sujata Devi, Somnath Kumar & Kiran Kumar Keshari
SECONDARY refining plays a vital role in steelmaking where the liquid steel from the primary vessel is refined to produce a highquality saleable steel. Ladle heating furnaces consume copious amounts of power but provide the flexibility to adjust power consumption rates during steel refining and thereby CO2 emissions. This can be achieved by process optimisation in the ladle heating furnace by forming a foamy slag on top of
the metal which is fluid and non-corrosive[1] This slag performs many vital functions in secondary refining including protection of the metal bath from atmospheric reoxidation and nitrogen pickup, absorption or assimilation of de-oxidation products and inclusions, desulphurisation, smoother arcing operation and reducing heat radiation losses etc. In addition, the fluidity of the slag is improved as a result of better
dissolution of CaO into the slag.
The use of foaming slag in the ladle furnace for aluminium/silicon killed steel was introduced at Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), SAIL by the addition of limestone chips, smaller than 30mm (-30 mm) in place of calcined lime in the ladle heating furnace during arcing. A reduction was observed in power consumption as well as in steel desulphurisation. Noise levels
The authors are with the Research & Development Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS), SAIL, Ranchi, India Contact author sujatadevi@sail.in
were significantly reduced due to the foaminess of the slag enhanced by the in-situ calcination of the limestone. Noise levels during arcing fell from 80dBA to 74dBA (~8% fall). Slag foaming also helped reduce the specific power consumption from 32kWh/tcs to 30.07kWh/tcs (~6%).
CO2 emissions from the three station ladle heating furnaces in the trial are calculated to be reduced by around 1566 tonnes over a year.
Slag is an essential phase for secondary steelmaking operations and plays many key roles in steel refining. Slag consists of ionic solutions containing mainly molten metal oxides that float on top of the steel as
completely liquid or partially liquid phases, the latter consisting of a liquid fraction and a solid fraction. As the solid fraction of the slag increases the fluidity of the slag decreases and it changes from ‘creamy’ to ‘fluffy, and eventually to ‘crusty’ or solid[2] Covering the arc generated between the
electrodes in a ladle furnace to protect the refractory lining of the ladle at the slag zone from arc-flare is a very important function of this ladle top slag. However, if the, basicity (CaO/SiO2) is below 2, excessive thinning of the slag shielding the arc occurs, or, if basicity exceeds 3, a crusty
Table 1. Noise level at LHF.
Table 2. Ladle top slag analysis in SMS-2, RSP
top slag results. Both these conditions are undesirable for the smooth functioning of a ladle furnace. In such cases, arcing at an exposed metal bath leads to higher power consumption due to an inconsistent heating rate, and a higher noise level during arcing and with damage to the ladle lining at the slag zone. A stable refining slag is also very important in achieving low oxygen levels in the steel. But, slag basicity needs to be no lower than 3 to reduce consumption of the aluminium deoxidiser with the recommendation of a value of 3-4 when refining low oxygen Al-killed steel[3] Steel melting Shop No 2 (SMS-II) at Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) produces a wide variety of aluminium/silicon killed steel grades through the integrated oxygen steelmaking – Ladle heat furnace RH degassing and continuous casting (BOF-LHF/ RH-CC) route. The melting shop is equipped with three ladle heating furnaces. Treatment of steels normally takes about 45 minutes on average. The average arcing duration is ~17 minutes. Power consumption in the ladle furnaces is high and ranges between 29-32kWh/tcs (of cast steel). The average hot metal sulphur content on tapping to the ladle is 0.037% and the level after refining is 0.018%. High sulphur in the steel is one of the bottlenecks in improving the internal quality of the steel.
In the present assignment, foamy slag
practice in the ladle furnace for aluminium/ silicon killed steels was introduced by the addition of limestone chips (-30 mm) in place of calcined lime in the ladle heating furnace during arcing.
Experimental
Limestone chips below 30mm in size were added to the ladle furnace during arcing (Fig 1). The foamy top slag formed was analysed and its melting point and viscosity calculated from its composition using empirical equations and Factsage software. The addition of limestone in place of the usual addition of calcined lime, added in batches during arcing, helped reduce the oxygen potential of the slag (FeO and MnO level) and improved steel quality in the process. The in-situ calcination of limestone due to the high temperature generated by the arc produces CO2 gas which foams the slag during arc reheating. This increases the slag volume, covering the arcs and generates a protective atmosphere above the steel. Ladle top slag samples were collected for analysis to assess the effect of flux addition on reduction of the undesirable, easy reducible oxides, FeO and MnO. The basicity of ladle top slag was also observed. Power consumption, arcing time and treatment time of each heat was recorded for comparisons.
Results and discussion
Plant scale trials were performed on all three ladle furnaces at SMS-II, RSP for a total of seven months in two periods during 2023.
Effect on noise during arcing
The noise level during arcing using the conventional practice was very loud. At the start of arcing, the recorded sound level was 95-98dBA at the LHF door measured at various times. Inside the control room the sound level was 80-92 dBA which is noisy. Noise level recordings taken for the trial heats using limestone chips showed a significant reduction at 74-84dBA at various times of arcing. Table 1
Effect on slag oxygen potential
Carry-over slag from the BOF contains easily reducible oxides such as FeO and MnO. The presence of high (FeO+MnO) in the ladle top slag is undesirable as it adversely affects the ladle lining life, ferro-alloys recoveries and steel cleanliness. The desulphurisation reaction in the ladle is also severely affected by the presence of these undesirable oxides. Ladle top slag analysis was determined to compare the effect of the addition of limestone. Many advantages were obtained as the FeO and MnO levels were reduced so improving alloy recoveries, steel cleanliness and desulphurisation. The final ladle top slag was collected from conventional and trial heats to compare the effectiveness on reduction in slag oxygen potential as shown in Table 2
The average level of FeO+MnO during this period in conventional heats was 3.23% compared to 2.88% for trial heats with limestone addition.
Average basicity (CaO/SiO2) was 3.5 in conventional practice compared to 4.0 with limestone addition to the ladle top slag. Hence a reduction in slag oxygen potential
Table 3. Power Consumption in conventional heats (calcined lime base period)
Table 4. Power consumption in modified heats (limestone trial period)
1) Reduction of CO2 emitted due to lower power consumption in LHF
Total power consumption July - Dec 2022 (MWh)
Total power consumption April – July 2023 (MWh)
generation per MWh grid power
Reduction in CO2 emitted annually (tonnes)
2) Reduction of CO2 emitted due to using limestone in place of calcined lime in LHF
Total consumption of limestone in-place of calcined lime for 6-months of trial period (assumed limestone 500 kg/heat )
Total CO2 generated in tonnes of calcined lime produced
CO2 generation due to energy consumption during conversion of limestone to calcined lime (25% of total generation ie. 0.925)
Reduction in CO2 generation for the year 2023-24
Total reduction of CO2 emitted for the year 2023-24 (1+2)
500kg/heat of limestone during the trial period (March-23 to July-23 and Nov-23 to Dec-23) is 1459t of CO2. Thus the total lowering of CO2 emissions in the three ladle heating furnaces for the complete year 2023-24 is calculated as 1566 tonnes CO2 In conclusion, a significant decrease in power consumption as well as a saving in energy required for prior calcination achieves a reduction in CO2 emissions calculated as 1566 tonnes per annum for the three ladle furnaces. In addition, the fluidity of the ladle top slag was improved due to better dissolution of CaO into the ladle top slag. The ladle lining was also
was achieved as well as increased slag basicity by addition of limestone chips.
Power consumption
Power consumption was measured to compare the effect of the foaming slag covering the arc with arcing on the bare metal bath which results in excessive heating of the refractories in the slag zone and a subsequent higher erosion rate of the ladle lining. Heat lost to the refractories is lower when slag covers the arc. In the conventional practice, average power consumption was 32kWh/tcs, a result indicated in Table 3 for the period July to Dec 2022. For heats using limestone chips for slag formation the average power consumption was 30.07kWh/tcs, shown in Table 4 for March-July 2023. This is a 6% reduction in power consumption per tonne of steel cast.
Effect on reduction in CO2 generation
Additions of limestone during arcing result in a reduction of the carbon foot print in two ways:
• Reduction in indirect CO2 emissions by power generation due to the lowering of power consumed.
• Reduction in CO2 emissions on account of replacement of lime by limestone, thus evading the energy requirement of prior calcination.
Addition of limestone during arcing results in a decrease in power consumption in the ladle furnace and reduced energy consumption for in-situ calcination of limestone to lime during arcing. This reduction in power and energy consumption leads to an overall reduction in CO2 emitted during ladle refining. This is shown in Table 5. The reduction in CO2 emitted resulting from lower power consumption in the ladle heating furnace is calculated for the seven months trial period (March-23 to July-23 and Nov-23 to Dec-23) and normalised to 12 months as 107t CO2. In addition, the reduction in CO2 emissions from calcining limestone in a kiln to full replacement of lime with limestone in the ladle furnace for in-situ calcining of
observed, after continuous casting and slag dumping, to be less eroded with no bottom and top jam seen. Also, a smooth thin coating of slag was evident on the refractory lining following the addition of limestone which helps to increase slag zone refractory life after the first repair. These improvements are in addition to the steel quality gains previously discussed. �
References
1. Çamdali, Ü and Tunc, M, 2003 Energy and exergy analysis of a ladle furnace Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 42(4), pp 439-446
2. A P Luz , A G Tomba Martinez , F López, P Bonadia , V C Pandolfelli, Slag foaming practice in the steelmaking process, , Ceramics International, volume 44, Issue 8, 1June 2018, Pages 8727-8741
3. Zhiyin DENG and Miaoyong ZHU Deoxidation Mechanism of Al-Killed Steel during Industrial Refining Process, *ISIJ International, Vol 54 (2014), No 7, pp 1498–1506
Table 5. Reduction of CO2 emissions over a 7-month period by addition of limestone
Limestone chips (mesh size -30mm)
In full swing with new projects
Amid a period of political uncertainty due to the upcoming US Election, business at The Systems Group remains strong, with a number of exciting new projects on the horizon. By Kyle Morgan*
1. How are things going at The Systems Group? Is the steel industry keeping you busy?
Things are going great at The Systems Group. Even with whispers of dropping steel demand leading up to the US Election, the large capital projects, greenfield steel mills and brownfield expansions, are still in full swing.
2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry?
Exciting! We’ve seen a renewed emphasis on investing in new steel technologies/ equipment, especially in the European Union where the industry is undergoing a major shift as part of the EU’s Green Deal Programme. The EU Steel Industry is undergoing a transformational shift from BOF steel production to EAF (Electric Arc Furnace) steel production, driving this renewed emphasis on investment.
3. In which sector of the steel industry does The Systems Group mostly conduct its business?
The Systems Group is a privately held group of companies that provides products and services exclusively to the steel and aluminium industries. In the United States, we specialize in process piping and have teams that can engineer, fabricate, and install underground and above ground piping systems, along with equipment and maintenance teams for long-term mill operations. Internationally, we focus on Spray-Cooled™ equipment for EAFs; a safer alternative to traditional pressurized cooling.
4. Where in the world are you busiest at present?
The majority of our current greenfield steel mill construction projects are ongoing in the American Midwest/Southeast states with a number of new projects coming online in the EU. We’ve also seen increased
investment in Latin/South American mills that are looking to upgrade their EAF equipment to larger/higher powered furnaces.
Kyle Morgan
5. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are currently working on?
Within the United States, our current major projects are with the new Big River Steel MiniMill 2; the new Nucor West Virginia Mill; the new solar powered Hybar Rebar Mill; and Steel Dynamics Inc’s new foray into aluminium with the Aluminium Dynamics Mill. We’re privileged to be a part of multiple projects in the EU, partnering with SMS to bring Spray-Cooled™ solutions to the new SSAB Oxelösund project and with Danieli on the voestalpine Stahl Donawitz project.
6. Where does The Systems Group stand on the aluminium versus steel argument?
Steel will always reign supreme in our eyes but there is a growing need for investment in ageing aluminium mills to
*Vice-president of operations, The Systems Group.
avoid importing aluminium from China. One of our core steel customers, Steel Dynamics Inc., was approached by some of its customers with the prospect of entering the aluminium industry to fill this need. Systems was in turn asked to help construct the new mill.
7. What are your views on Industry 4.0 and steelmaking?
There is no way not to be part of the Industry 4.0 shift and remain competitive in today’s marketplace. Steel makers need to be able to produce more steel with less personnel, both due to a shortage in the labour pool and to reduce headcount on the floor for safety purposes. The shift to controlled automation and an IoT connected mill generating a new level of datasets help steel producers make better, more informed decisions.
8. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like The Systems Group to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? If so, what can you offer them?
Yes, that is the driving force behind the success of our Spray-Cooled™ equipment division. From an energy efficiency standpoint, our patented technology gives steelmakers a few unique energy efficiency gains compared to our competitors: a single-piece construction EAF sidewall and roof allows more heat to be contained within the furnace and not lost to panel gaps; our equipment also allows for longer uptime and reduced maintenance costs. By reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the furnace (by keeping more heat in the furnace) and less water usage, our equipment can contribute to a steel mills’ sustainability goals.
9. 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 entire industry, outside of China, seems to be on board with the shift to reducing its carbon footprint. In places like the EU where there is government funding to help with the green transition, it helps drive the transition faster.
10. Where does The Systems Group lead the field in terms of steel production technology?
The heart of any steel mill is the melt shop; it drives everything else in the steel mill. Our Spray-Cooled™ technology on EAF furnaces is the industry leader for furnace cooling options, allowing for significantly longer run times and exceptional campaign life. Our customers can consistently get 18,000 heats out of a Spray-Cooled roof before pulling from service for maintenance, allowing a higher level of production without the downtime.
11. How do you view The Systems Group’s development over the shortto-medium term in relation to the global steel industry?
Accelerated growth: with the EU Green Deal Initiative helping fund the BOF to EAF conversion, there are multiple current projects and many new ones that have been announced as well as an uptick in investment in Latin/South American steel mills. We also predict that once funds start getting handed out as part of the United States Infrastructure Act, that will drive another wave of increased steel demand. Our goal is continued support of our customers as they respond to the market.
12. China dominates global crude steel production. How should the industry react to the situation? What China has been doing to the global steel market with artificially low pricing as well as steel dumping is well known, and every country should be taking measures to mitigate against it. The section 232 Steel Tariffs put in place by the United States is one such measure that has helped drive a new wave in US steel capital investments.
13. Where do you see most innovation in terms of production technologies?
With green being the new marching orders of western countries, hands down the most innovation is happening in secondary steel production technologies. Very few new BOF projects are being announced compared to the number of EAFs for the secondary steel production market. This is leading a wave of product innovations, from suppliers such as us to the steel makers themselves. Where secondary steel production was once considered ‘lower grade’ steel, EAF producers have been able to come out with a wide range of premium products that historically only primary steel makers were able to produce. This has been achieved through a combination of supplier innovations of products and technology as well as better steel chemistry of the final product.
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’m very optimistic on the long-term outlook for the global steel industry, with at least another five years of this current investment cycle. Current geopolitical tensions are a concern; however, they ultimately drive the steel industry when conflicts break out. I do believe we will continue to see a temporary drop in steel demand in the North American market until we make it through the current US election cycle.
15. What exhibitions and conferences will The Systems Group be attending over the next six months?
While our biggest exhibition of the year is AISTech (2025 will be in our backyard, Nashville, TN!), we’re proud to sponsor the
upcoming EU Steel Forum in November taking place in Essen, Germany, as well as the AIST Leadership Conference taking place in San Antonio, TX. We’re also a contributor to many of the smaller technical steel conferences that take place in North America throughout the year.
16. The Systems Group is headquartered in the US; what’s happening steel-wise in the area?
As mentioned previously, there are whispers of dropping steel demand as we enter into the US election season; however, that has not slowed anything down on current capitol construction projects.
17. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night?
Cyber-attacks! Going back to the geopolitical issues mentioned above, there is more going on in the world than just the physical conflicts that are happening. We’ve seen a large uptick of cyber-attacks hitting our vendors, ourselves, and our customers in the steel industry. These ransomware attacks have turned into a booming industry, where hackers can even subscribe to ‘Malware as a Service’ subscriptions on the dark web increasing the amount of threat actors out there. Even more concerning are the State-sponsored ‘Project Typhoon’ hacking groups out of China that focus on two primary objectives: industrial espionage and breaching critical infrastructure of Western Countries. At Systems, we’ve increased our IT/Cyber security budget threefold to roll out new systems and software to protect against these increasing attacks.
18. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry?
Safety. While there’s no single magic button to fix everything, I would use my ‘steel superpowers’ to make our industry safer.
Making steel is inherently dangerous, it’s just the nature of the industry. There have been huge improvements over the last few decades on creating a new culture of safety compared to how the industry used to operate, but major recordables and fatalities still happen. I want our employees/ contractor teammates/customers to all go home to their families in the same condition, if not better, than when they started the day. �
Pioneers of coke-ironmaking: Part 1 – Dud Dudley
While Abraham Darby I is credited with being the first to successfully smelt iron using coke around 1709, his work followed earlier pioneers to use this fuel as an alternative to charcoal. Dud Dudley was one such pioneer nearly a century earlier. By
Peter King*
MUCH has been written of Dud Dudley (1600~ – 1684), but often this has been an author’s interpretation of what Dud wrote in a pamphlet Metallum Martis. This records how he smelted iron with pitcoal in the 1620s. He, of course, recorded events from his point of view. New light is thrown on his career by studying litigation records in which he was involved. Dud was born within the large illegitimate family of Edward Lord Dudley and his long-term mistress, Elizabeth Tomlinson. Dud was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, but his father brought him home to manage his estate ironworks in the UK Midlands, west of Birmingham.
The initiative to smelt iron with mineral coal (‘pitcoal’ or ‘seacoal’ ie colliery waste) belongs to Simon Sturtevant, who obtained a grant (not strictly a patent) from King James I. Sturtevant was a clergyman (though deprived of his living), a lexicographer of ancient languages, and
had a patent to make earthenware pipes, with premises in Islington and Highbury (then outside London). However at this time he was outlawed (probably for debt) and transferred his rights to John Ferrour of Grays Inn Lane, after a fresh grant had been obtained by a John Rovenson. Both published descriptions of their invention. Rovenson’s describes how he proposed to smelt iron in a reverberatory furnace (which was probably impractical) but this seems to be the first mention of using reverberatory furnaces in smelting, in which the fuel (coal) is burnt in a separate chamber to the charge, thereby preventing contamination by the fuel.
Family ironworks
In 1619, Dud was appointed to manage three of his father’s ironworks in Pensnett Chase, including a furnace in Dudley New Park and two forges – Cradley Forges, but Cradley’s dam was washed away by a flood on Mayday 1622. A published account titled Wood and charcoal growing then and pitcoals abounding induced him to alter the furnace to make iron with pitcoal. His father obtained a licence from Rovenson for this and later renewed the patent in his own name, no doubt at the suggestion of Dud. Later Dud moved to Himley Furnace, but had no outlet for his pig iron, except to sell it to charcoal ironmasters, who ‘did him much prejudice not only in detaining his stock but also disparaging his iron’, meaning that his iron was bad, and they would not pay for it. The result was that, in 1625, Himley Furnace was leased to the main local charcoal ironmaster, Richard Foley.
Dud knew about the difference between grey, mottled, and white pig iron, and preferred grey. The difference is that grey iron – in which carbon appears as free graphite – has a significant silicon content. This produces a more fluid molten iron, making it very suitable for foundry work, but it was not suitable for the normal finery process used in forges to make bar iron,
to Dud Dudley in St
The inscription translates as: Colonel Dud Dudley, son of the late noble Edward of Dudley, dear to his father and most faithful subject and servant to His Majesty the King, in vindicating the church, in fighting for English law and liberty; often captured, in the year 1648 once condemned nevertheless not beheaded; born again, as an old man he sees an unshakeable crown. (picture from ‘Hadfield, History and progress of Metallurgical Science, section IV plate 4’).
then by far the most important sector of the iron industry.
Dud then moved to Hascod Furnace, of which John Smallman (presumably a friend) had a lease from Lord Dudley, and again made iron with pitcoal, but he probably failed to pay his rent and for the minerals he used. Lord Dudley stopped horses carrying ‘mine’ (ironstone) to Richard Foley for his charcoal furnaces, for which Foley had already paid Dud. Foley was forced to pay Lord Dudley directly for ore that he had already paid to Dud. Dud let Hascod Furnace to Roger Hill, who assigned it to Foley. Lord Dudley then made a formal entry to Hascod Furnace in February 1631, thus forfeiting the lease. He ordered the dam to be cut, thus depriving the bellows of their power supply. He probably did not authorise someone to cut the bellows, which Dud attributed to riotous persons. However, Lord Dudley was exercising his legal right to forfeit the lease, so that the events were legally not a riot. In 1638, Dud and others were granted a patent for smelting iron using pitcoal.
Family rift
Lord Dudley’s interest in his ‘natural’ family seems to have faded. He had one legitimate grandchild, a daughter, whom he married off to Humble Ward, the son of a rich London goldsmith, who then paid off the mortgages on the Dudley estates.
Dud appealed to the Court of Chancery, for the title to the manor of Himley, saying Lord Dudley had ‘enfeoffed him of it in 1622 to keep it from his creditors’, but had to climb down in 1639, having
*Dr King serves on the Council of the Historical Metallurgy Society and is the author of a book and many articles on the history of the iron and steel industry
Memorial
Helens Church Worcester.
The house today where Dud Dudley lived at 44 Friar Street, Worcester from c 1651
been imprisoned for contempt of court, disclaiming title to anything but what he already owned.
Shortly after this King Charles I went to war with the Scots in what is known as the ‘Bishops War’ and Dud served in the army. He subsequently served in the Royalist army during the Civil War, rising to the rank of colonel. In 1648, he was captured at Boscobel among a party who were trying to seize Dawley Castle in Shropshire. He was imprisoned in the Gatehouse at Westminster and sentenced to death for treason. However, he escaped ‘during sermon time’ and made his way to Bristol, where he masqueraded as Dr Hunt, a medical doctor.
Later life
In 1651, while at Bristol, he interested the husband and a kinsman of one of his patients in exploiting his 1638 smelting patent. They used an old bell-house (probably a reverberatory furnace) in Clifton, Bristol, to smelt lead, but the husband’s death ended this enterprise in litigation. The process was later used by John and Arthur Scratchfield at Stockley
Slade (now Nightingale Valley) on the west side of the Avon Gorge.
At this time, Dud was probably living with his wife in her house in Worcester, about 30 miles south of Dudley. Dud was unable to compound for his delinquency, (pay a fine to recover his property confiscated by Parliament for supporting the Royalist cause in the Civil War) which had resulted in the sequestration (confiscation) of his property. However, at the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, his property was restored to him. Following this he obtained a licence from the Consistory Court at Worcester to practice medicine. He was also a partner in a patent to make tinplate, but nothing more is known of this.
He published his booklet Metallum Martis in 1665. About seven years later, he built a furnace high on the hill at Dudley ‘for making ironstone with charcoal made of wood and pitcoal together to be blown or set on work by the strength of men and of horses.’ This treadmill or horsemill blown blast furnace was probably quite unique at the time. The partners included Sir Clement Clerke and John Finch of Dudley. Finch had recently built forges on the nearby river
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Stour. However, in 1673, Finch reached an agreement with the leading local ironmaster Philip Foley (Richard’s grandson), not to compete in buying wood for charcoal. The agreement’s terms included that the Dudley Furnace would not be used with charcoal.
Following his wife’s death, Dud erected an elaborate memorial to her in his parish church, St Helen’s, Worcester. He remarried and had a son in his old age. He applied to the Company of Mineral and Battery Works for mining rights in the Malvern Hills in February 1684, in the hope of having something to leave to his son but died that October.
The continuation of the development of coke in the smelting of iron will be published in subsequent issues of Steel Times International �
References
This article is largely based on the author’s ‘Innovation in the Iron Trade’, International Journal for the history of Engineering and Technology 94(1) (2024), 12-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/17581206.2023.2299493; ‘Sir Clement Clerke and the adoption of coal in metallurgy’, Transactions of Newcomen Society 73 (2001-2), 33-53. https://doi.org/10.1179/tns.2001.002.
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