INDUSTRY NEWS
INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY
ArcelorMittal and Italian state agree on plan for Ilva ArcelorMittal has signed a binding agreement with Invitalia, the Italian state-owned company investing in former steelmaker Ilva in Taranto. The two will form a public-private partnership. The updated industrial plan agreed between ArcelorMittal’s unit AM InvestCo and Invitalia involves investment in lower-carbon steelmaking technologies, including the construction of a 2.5 million tonne Electric Arc Furnace. The industrial plan, which targets reaching 8 million tonnes of production in 2025, involves a series of public support measures includ-
ing ongoing government funded employment support. This year Taranto’s output will reach slightly over 3m tonnes, impacted by the pandemic as well as the uncertainty over the future of the company. The conditions precedent to closing include: the amendment of the existing environmental plan to account for changes in the new industrial plan; the lifting of all criminal seizures on the Taranto plant; and the absence of restrictive measures – in the context of criminal proceedings where Ilva is a defendant – being imposed against AM InvestCo.
Tata unveils €300 million ‘Roadmap+’ for IJmuiden Tata Steel on 8 December launched ‘Roadmap+’, a €300 million environmental-improvement plan to reduce emissions at its IJmuiden plant in The Netherlands. Roadmap+ means to combat industrial odors and dust pollution at IJmuiden. Its announcement coincides with the publication of a progress report on Tata Steel’s Roadmap 2030 sustainability programme involving 25 projects to enhance the company’s environmental performance. As part of the Roadmap+ programme , Tata Steel Netherlands will work closely with local authority and government leaders in the Province of Noord Holland to ensure the measures exceed environmental laws. The measures include the planned €150 million construction of a DeNOx facility at IJmuiden’s Pellet plant, which will reduce emissions significantly by cutting output of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and heavy metal particulates by more than 90%. The project will also include an investment of
Seaside view of Tata Steel Europe’s Ijmuiden works
€50 million in improvements to the Coke and Gas Plant 2 (CGP2), helping to cut odors and emission of particulates.
U.S. Steel buys outstanding shares in Big River Steel our ‘Best of Both’ strategy,” said David B. Burritt, president and chief executive officer of U. S. Steel. Big River Steel operates a LEED-certified Flex Mill in northeast Arkansas that is believed to be the newest and most advanced flat-rolled mill in North America. Big River Steel produces eleven advanced U. S. Steel grades, including substrate for its XG3grade of Genera-
Liberty Steel and Thyssenkrupp get serious Liberty Steel and Thyssenkrupp in early December confirmed they that will be entering the due diligence process which could eventually lead to a takeover of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe by Liberty. “Thyssenkrupp and Liberty Steel Group have agreed to enter a further process phase,” the UK-based group writes in a statement, noting that it will shortly begin a detailed due diligence and thus gain insight into key
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business data of Thyssenkrupp’s steel business. The economy minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Andreas Pinkwart, was quoted in the local press as saying that Liberty’s offer “is a reasonable basis for discussion,” after talking to Liberty chief Sanjeev Gupta. Pinkwart said Liberty’s concept is substantial, and he welcomed the group’s apparent willingness to push the transformation towards green steel.
tion 3 advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). Big River recently started up and commissioned its Phase II expansion, which brings the Osceola, Arkansas-based mill’s capacity to 3.3 million short tons/year.
SSAB confirms interest in Tata Steel Ijmuiden SSAB has confirmed that it is in discussions with Tata Steel Group concerning a potential acquisition of Tata Steel Europe’s IJmuiden steel mill and related downstream assets. The Swedish company says that discussions with Tata are on-going but no decisions have been made. There can be no certainty that any transaction will materialise, nor as to the terms of any such potential transaction. Further announcement will be made in due course, it says.
December 2020 / MPT International
Source: Tata Steel Europe
U.S. Steel has exercised its call option to acquire the remaining equity of Big River Steel for approximately $774 million from cash on hand. The group had previously acquired a 49.9% stake in Big River Steel for $700m. “For months, I’ve said that we can’t get to the future fast enough. Today, I can say the future is now. We are acquiring Big River Steel, the cornerstone of
