Steelworks of Italy, all on the new (electrical) plan for the former Ilva
The government and the extraordinary commissioners presented the new industrial plan for Acciaierie d'Italia: production of six million tons by 2026 and replacement of two blast furnaces with electric furnaces. But the former Ilva player remains awaiting the European green light for the loan. All the details
Next week the government is expected to approve a decree-law containing a loan of 150 million euros – after the 150 million already transferred – to Acciaierie d'Italia, the steel company under extraordinary administration that manages the former ILVA plant in Taranto, at risk of closure.
A bridge loan of 320 million is then added to the double intervention of 300 million. The sum, 620 million euros in total, will be used to relaunch production in the steelworks, including the restoration of the plants and the purchase of the necessary materials.
The most awaited funds, given the size, are the 320 million of the bridge loan, however subject to the approval of the European Union: according to the extraordinary commissioner Giovanni Fiori, appointed in March , if this money "does not arrive within a month and a half, we're closing."
WHAT THE NEW INDUSTRIAL PLAN OF ACCIAIERIE D'ITALIA INCLUDES
On Monday, representatives of Acciaierie d'Italia and the government presented the company's new industrial plan to the unions, which will be submitted to the European authorities to obtain the release of the loan. The plan calls for the production of six million tonnes of steel by 2026, using current coal-fired blast furnaces. However, the construction of two electric furnaces should begin by the first half of 2025, in order to reduce emissions from the steelmaking activity given that they do not use coal: they will be operational, according to estimates, in the second half of 2027.
These two electric furnaces will replace blast furnaces 1 and 4 of the former ILVA, guaranteeing a production of four million tons of steel.
However, the option of renovating blast furnace 5, which has been shut down since the spring of 2015, was discarded – reports Il Sole 24 Ore – due to excessively high costs. In fact, in addition to the investment of around 500 million euros for the remodeling of the plant, there are the costs for the purchase of carbon quotas to offset the emissions from the steelmaking process: producing four million tonnes from blast furnace 5 would make it necessary to purchase eight million CO2 quotas on the European ETS market , explains Il Sole 24 Ore . The allocation of these allowances will no longer be free from 2029.
The Confindustria newspaper adds that the cost of renovating a small blast furnace is around 250 million euros. The commissioners of Acciaierie d'Italia, then, are giving priority to "what has the greatest impact on safety": that is, the rebuilding of the plant's crucible and the cooling system, for a cost of around 50-60 million.
The former ILVA owns four blast furnaces. The only one currently in operation is number 4.
A NEW INVESTOR FOR STEELWORKS OF ITALY
The main objective of the extraordinary administration of Acciaierie d'Italia, however, is the rapid search for a new investor interested in taking over the plant, after the exit of the Indian-Luxembourg group ArcelorMittal ( which invests in France , taking advantage of the availability of nuclear energy). The names that circulate the most are those of Arvedi (Italian), Vulcan Green Steel (Indian), Metinvest (Ukrainian) and Steel Mont (Indian).
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/acciaierie-d-italia-nuovo-piano-industriale-ex-ilva/ on Tue, 30 Apr 2024 08:42:54 +0000.