Steel Times International October 2023 by Quartz Business Media

HISTORY

STEEL MARKETS

USA UPDATE

PERSPECTIVES

Henry Cort and the black metallurgists, Part Two

Myra Pinkham on US non-residential construction

US Steel up for grabs? Whatever next?

We talk to Plug Power’s chief of strategy Sanjay Shrestha

Since 1866

www.steeltimesint.com October 2023 - Vol.47 No7

DANIELI’S GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI – EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW STI Cover Mr Benedetti.indd 1

11/10/2023 16:28:09

_I 1--

1 I_ -- - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONTENTS – OCTOBER

Gianpietro Benedetti, chairman of Danieli and subject of this month’s cover story. Photo courtesy of Danieli.

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

2 Leader By Matthew Moggridge.

22 COVER STORY: Gianpietro Benedetti Steel – the past, present and future.

4 News round-up The latest global steel news.

32 Europe EU steel sector: uncertainty lingers.

8 Innovations special A lighter touch for automotive manufacturing.

34 Electric steelmaking Electric dreams.

10 Innovations The latest products and contracts. 13 Cold rolling Rolling thin to drive green. 14 USA update US steel: up for grabs. 17 Latin America update Powered by solar.

Managing Director Tony Crinion tonycrinion@quartzltd.com Tel: +44 (0) 1737 855164 Chief Executive Officer Steve Diprose SUBSCRIPTION Jack Homewood Tel +44 (0) 1737 855028 Fax +44 (0) 1737 855034 Email subscriptions@quartzltd.com

38 Construction Neither up nor down. 43 Process control Improved heat treatment of rail wheels 46 Perspectives Plugged into green steel. 48 History Cort and the black metallurgists. Part 2 – Whose technology?

20 India update Tata Steel merges its businesses.

Steel Times International is published eight times a year and is available on subscription. Annual subscription: UK £226.00 Other countries: £299.00 2 years subscription: UK £407.00 Other countries: £536.00 3 years subscription: UK £453.00 Other countries: £625.00 Single copy (inc postage): £50.00 Email: steel@quartzltd.com Published by: Quartz Business Media Ltd, Quartz House, 20 Clarendon Road,

Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QX, England. Tel: +44 (0)1737 855000 Fax: +44 (0)1737 855034 www.steeltimesint.com Steel Times International (USPS No: 020-958) is published monthly except Feb, May, July, Dec by Quartz Business Media Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville, PA. POSTMASTER send address changes to Steel Times International c/o PO Box 437, Emigsville, PA 17318-0437. Printed in England by: Stephens and George Ltd • Goat Mill Road • Dowlais • Merthyr Tydfil • CF48 3TD. Tel: +44 (0)1685 352063 Web: www.stephensandgeorge.co.uk ©Quartz Business Media Ltd 2023

ISSN0143-7798

www.steeltimesint.com

Contents.indd 1

October 2023

11/10/2023 16:31:59

LEADER

Future Steel Forum ‘23, Gianpietro Benedetti and US Steel

Matthew Moggridge Editor matthewmoggridge@quartzltd.com

Where to begin? A question I often ask myself, especially when I’m about to write my monthly leader for this magazine. I suppose I should really talk about the Future Steel Forum 2023, the topﬂight high-tech steelmaking conference (if I say so myself) that I introduced to the steel industry way back in the heady days of 2017! Needless to say it’s still going strong, which is testament to the hard work and dedication of all involved, particularly my esteemed colleagues Paul Rossage and Catherine Hill. We turned a corner in Vienna last month and I’m looking forward to next year in Stockholm, Sweden. Needless to say, more details will follow. Two paragraphs in and I’m twiddling my thumbs, wondering what to write about next. I could say more about the Forum, which has developed nicely over recent years and, to a degree, has morphed into an extraordinary event that focuses strongly on that word ‘future’, but enough praise has been heaped upon the conference online, and it goes without saying that those who attended are happy and for that alone I am glad. Three paragraphs in, embarking

upon number four, what else is there to say? Well, my sincere thanks go out to Gianpietro Benedetti, chairman of Danieli, who gave up some of his valuable time to sit opposite me at a table in his office at the Buttrio headquarters of his company in Italy, and conduct what has turned out to be a huge, six-page profile piece full of interesting insights from a man who straddles plant building and steelmaking – it’s also this month’s cover story which, in itself, is history in the making. When, I wonder, was the last time we had a distinguished steel industry personality on the cover of Steel Times International? I am now on paragraph five, there’s little space to write much more, but it’s worth mentioning that US Steel is for sale, not that you don’t know. News changes fast so I’d better check the latest: There’s been a row between the long-established US steelmaker and Cleveland Cliffs. The latter has refused to sign a six-month standstill agreement preventing it from challenging the former’s board of directors – and a condition, says Reuters, to allowing Cliffs to carry out due diligence and participate in the sale process. Needless to say, we’ll be following this story with interest.

25 Safety Storage Efficiency Enhance the Safety, Capacity and Efficiency of Your Steel Facility Combilift is the perfect fit for the steel industry. Our range of VNA, multidirectional forklifts, straddle carriers and mobile gantry cranes are perfect for handling long product, allowing you to maximise your storage, efficiency and safety. The COMBi-GT is simply the obvious choice very narrow aisle stand on forklift when space is at an absolute premium when handling long loads. Platform lengths can be customised to fit your existing narrow aisle facilities.

STI International 2.0.indd 1

October 2023

Leader.indd 1

combilift.com 07/09/2023 11:22:01

www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 11:26:22

Q3-PREMIUM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN QUALITY CONTROL Danieli Automation’s innovative digital solution to support smart quality control and management for high-end metals production, a software tool for plant-wide quality assurance and management. Via Bonaldo Stringher, 4 33042 Buttrio (UD) Italy Phone +39 0432 518 111 www.digi-met.com www.dca.it

NEWS ROUND-UP

ArcelorMittal has recently contracted plant supplier Primetals Technologies to revamp two LD converters (BOFs) at its steel plant in Jõao Monlevade, Brazil. The order encompasses two new 135-ton converters, an upgrade of the primary dedusting systems, and complete electrics and automation packages. Primetals Technologies will supply vessels, trunnion rings, suspension systems, tilting drives, bearings, pedestals, and new off-gas cleaning systems for both new converters. Source: WebWire, 30 August 2023

Mining and metals conglomerate GFG Alliance is considering selling its Clydebridge site in the UK, one of two steel mills it acquired about seven years ago. The family-owned business group bought the

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the signing of a share purchase agreement to acquire a 100% shareholding in the Saudi Iron & Steel Company from the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. According to media reports, these strategic transactions align with PIF’s broader objectives to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s industrial development and cater to the increasing local demand for steel, thereby enhancing Saudi Arabia’s steel production capabilities. Source: Zawya, 4 September 2023 mothballed steel plants at Clydebridge and Dalzell in a Scottish governmentbacked deal in 2016. Scottish Enterprises funded the takeover with a £7 million loan to GFG as the government looked to revive the steel industry. Both plants were previously owned by India’s Tata Steel. The group is now ‘marketing’ the site ‘for a possible sale’ to strengthen the other plant at Dalzell. Source: Eastern Eye, 4 September 2023

A landmark deal worth over £100 million has been struck to use British Steel on one the world’s biggest offshore wind plants being built at Teesworks, northern England. Steel work is being erected as major progress continues on the £450 million SeAH Wind monopile manufacturing facility at South Bank on the former steelworks site. The 800-metre-long building will be the world’s biggest monopile facility when complete and is the first of its kind in the UK. Source: The Northern Echo, 4 September 2023

The UK Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has initiated an extension review of the safeguard measures on 15 categories of steel products. The review will recommend to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade if the

Liberty Steel is closing one of the three ovens at its Ostrava site in Czechia and there is a ‘growing expectation’ that the company may idle its last two operational blast furnaces in Europe in the coming months. A spokesperson for Liberty declined to comment on ‘rumours’ about the potential idling of blast furnaces at Ostrava and Galati in Romania. The furnaces are both currently operational, but sources suggest senior leadership is contemplating stopping the units. Source: Argus Media, 4 September 2023 safeguard measure should be extended by up to two further years to 2026. In initiating this extension review, the TRA will investigate whether a surge in steel imports is likely to recur, whether the measure currently in place has removed or reduced serious injury to the UK steel industry, and whether the circumstances of UK producers, or domestic or overseas market conditions, are such that a surge in steel imports is likely to recur. Source: Mirage News, 5 September 2023

International technology group ANDRITZ has received an order from ArcelorMittal, France, to supply a reversible 6-high cold-rolling mill for processing high grade non-oriented silicon steel strip for use in electric motors. The mill will produce light-gauge strip, and according to a company press release, will be an essential part of ArcelorMittal’s new production complex for electrical steels at its site in Mardyck, northern France. The rolling mill will be capable of rolling up to 1,450mm wide strip to a minimum finished material gauge of 0.2mm. Source: Newswire Today. 6 September 2023

Industry NEWS.indd 1

11/10/2023 16:19:13

NEWS ROUND-UP

Graphene producer Directa Plus has said that Setcar, its environmental services subsidiary, has signed a three-year contract with Liberty Galati to process oily mill sludge. The contract is with Liberty Galati, the largest integrated steel producer in Romania, and will last for three years. It has a total value of €5.5 million, with the potential for further expansion up to a total of €8 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Setcar will provide solutions for the treatment of oily mill scale produced in the manufacturing of steel. Source: Shares, 7 September 2023

Motion technology company Schaeffler, and Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel have decided to intensify their partnership. The two

Renewable energy company Avaada Group has announced plans to set up a green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing unit at Tata Steel’s industrial park in Odisha, India. The renewable energy group has set ambitious targets to achieve 11GW of operational projects by 2026 and 30GW by 2030. According to media reports, the green hydrogen space in the country has gained momentum after the government rolled out the national green hydrogen mission earlier this year. Source: Mint, 7 September 2023 companies made the decision during a recent equity funding round, in which Schaeffler agreed to invest a further €65 million, a significant increase that takes its total stake to €100 million. As a strategic technology partner of H2 Green Steel, Schaeffler will channel its know-how into the development of new steel products, such as green e-steel for electromobility. Source: Automotive World, 11 September 2023

Kazakhstan’s first deputy prime minister, Roman Sklyar, has denied rumours that ArcelorMittal Temirtau will be acquired by Severstal, Russia’s largest mining company. Journalists asked Sklyar whether any negotiations had been held with Severstal, with Sklyar replying, ‘‘That’s not true. There are no negotiations on this issue. Do not believe these rumours.’’ Previously, there had been media reports that the government of Kazakhstan was considering the ownership transfer. Source: Kazinform, 7 September 2023

India's Essar Group is moving forward with its plan to construct a $4.5 billion integrated green steel facility in Saudi Arabia. In a press release, Essar announced

SSAB has been granted a patent for a hot-rolled steel with a tensile strength of at least 950 MPa. The steel has a microstructure consisting of bainite at an area ratio of 70% or more, martensite at an area ratio of 30% or less, and optionally ferrite at an area ratio of 20% or less. The chemical composition includes specific percentages of carbon, silicon, manganese, chromium, nickel, copper, molybdenum, aluminium, niobium, vanadium, and titanium. Source: Mining Technology, 11 September 2023

a collaboration with Desert Technologies, a solar photovoltaic company based in Saudi Arabia. Together, they will pioneer solutions for renewable energy generation and storage, exclusively for Essar's Flat Steel Complex in Saudi Arabia. The project is slated to commence production operations by 2027. Source: Construction World, 12 September 2023

Japan will grant roughly $3.04 billion in subsidies for developing a new steelmaking process that slashes carbon dioxide emissions, the government has announced, more than doubling the assistance previously earmarked. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry outlined the new plan during a panel meeting. The subsidies will go toward hydrogen reduction steelmaking, which is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 50% or more. The government previously decided to allocate up to 193.5 billion yen to commercialize hydrogen reduction steelmaking by around 2045. Officials are accelerating the target date to 2040 by expanding financial assistance. Source: Nikkei Asia, 16 September 2023

Industry NEWS.indd 2

11/10/2023 16:20:52

NEWS ROUND-UP

Japanese steelmaker JFE Steel has shut down the last blast furnace at its plant in the city of Kawasaki, near Tokyo. The move means the end of a history of steel production of over 100 years with blast furnaces on the Kawasaki waterfront – part of an industrial zone that constitutes one of the country's three largest industrial areas. JFE Steel halted the operation of the blast furnace at its steel mill on the city's waterfront in the Keihin Industrial Area on 22 September. Source: NHK World Japan, 17 September 2023

UK longs producer British Steel is delaying deliveries because of a problem with one of its blast furnaces, according to market sources. The company has moved to one blast furnace, from two, because it is struggling to

UK steelmakers could save up to 3.5kt of carbon emissions annually by switching from natural gas to locally produced green hydrogen, a governmentfunded study supported by the city’s industry has found. The project, led by energy company E.ON, Chesterfield Special Cylinders, the University of Sheffield’s Energy Institute and other partners across the region, is exploring ways to generate green hydrogen at the Blackburn Meadows renewable energy park, which can then be used as a cleaner fuel source for Sheffield’s steelmakers and other energyintensive industries. Source: H2 View, 18 September 2023 make pig iron of sufficient quality, the sources said. There are some suggestions that this could be caused by problems with a batch of imported coke. The company recently took its coking ovens off-line with a view to reducing its carbon footprint – and the amount of emissions allowances it needs to buy – and has been importing coke ever since. Source: Argus Media. 19 September 2023

Global professional services firm GHD has been appointed as ‘owner’s engineer’ by Green Steel of WA, a company set up to develop Western Australia’s green steel making capability and establish Australia’s first green steel recycling mill in Collie, a town in the southwest region of Western Australia. As 'owner’s engineer', GHD will provide multi-disciplinary services to help Green Steel of WA develop steel plant specifications, support engineering, procurement, and construction engagement, concept design and project approvals management. Source: Waste Management Review, 19 September 2023 Latin American steelmakers are pressing for deadlines for adhesion to the European Commission's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to be extended, representatives of regional steelmaking associations said in a joint public statement released on 19 September. Alacero members will find it

Mercedes-Benz has signalled its preference for greener steel in the US alongside a commitment to 50kt/yr from long-time supplier Steel Dynamics Inc (SDI). The CO2reduced steel stipulated in the buy will be supplied by SDI’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama, EAF facility, using at least 70% recycled scrap and 100% renewable energy, the automaker said in a statement. The companies have had a business relationship since 2015. Source: Fastmarkets, 19 September 2023

difficult to comply with the timetabled requirements for continued export product access to the EU, a major steel trade partner, according to a statement issued by the association. Source: S&P Global, 19 September 2023

JSW Steel has said that it has taken a significant step towards its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by securing full ownership of NSL Green Steel Recycling (NSHL). The journey toward the acquisition began with a joint venture agreement signed between JSW Steel and NSHL on 18 August 2022. The primary objective was to establish scrap shredding facilities in India, promoting the increased utilisation of steel scrap in steelmaking operations – a key strategy in lowering carbon emissions. Source: CNBC TV, 20 September 2023

Industry NEWS.indd 3

11/10/2023 16:21:38

NEWS ROUND-UP

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and US Steel plan to test an advanced membrane technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions generated by steelmaking operations at the company’s Edgar Thomson plant, located in Braddock, Pennsylvania. The project is part of the US Department of Energy’s Point Source Carbon Capture programme. ‘‘The testing of this promising NETL-developed membrane at the Edgar Thomson Plant is an important step to move this ground-breaking technology closer to commercial deployment,” said NETL’s David Hopkinson, technical portfolio lead for Point Source Carbon Capture. Source: Business Wire, 20 September 2023

Companies that use huge amounts of steel to construct buildings or clean-energy equipment are banding together to push North American steelmakers to adopt greener manufacturing methods. On 20 September, corporations including Microsoft, US real estate developer Trammell Crow and solar-hardware-maker Nextracker announced a plan to jointly request a total of 2Mt of ‘near-zero emissions’ steel from producers. The broadly defined category can include steel produced using renewable electricity, clean hydrogen or potentially with carbon-capture technology. Source: Canary Media, 20 September 2023

Hitachi Energy has supplied Swedish steelmaker Ovako with a modular eHouse solution for the electrification of a 20 MW electrolyser in Hofors, Sweden. The project marks the world’s first steel plant to use hydrogen for heating before the rolling process. Beyond steel heating, the hydrogen will fuel cell-powered trucks, and surplus heat from the plant will support district heating. Hitachi Energy’s delivery includes a modular Grid-to-Stack solution, with components such as transformers, rectifiers, control equipment, and highcurrent connections to convert alternating current from the distribution grid into the direct current required for the electrolyzer. Source: PV Magazine, 21 September 2023

After four years of investigation, British police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have announced there will be no manslaughter charges in relation to the deaths of two demolition workers at a decommissioned steelworks. John Mackay, 49, and Tommy Williams, 65, died following an explosion at the former British Steel Teesworks site in Redcar on 19 September 2019. A statement released by the HSE said that following ‘a thorough joint investigation by Cleveland Police and HSE’, they have determined that there is insufficient evidence to support gross negligence manslaughter or corporate manslaughter charges. Source: Construction News, 22 September 2023

Qcells, the largest solar panel manufacturer in North America, and Alton Steel, an Illinois steel mill represented by the United Steelworkers, have announced a 6.5MW solar project. ‘‘Our partnership with Alton Steel truly represents an incredible shift towards low-cost clean energy. The two solar arrays will produce enough energy to power 1,300 homes a year, reducing climate pollution by up to 6,762 metric tons of CO2 equivalent annually," said Qcells' sustainability programme development manager, Shannon Geiger-Risdon. Source: Alt Energy Mag, 25 September 2023.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a $25 million loan to Kandil Steel to support sustainable flat steel processing in Egypt and fund green projects, according to media reports. The financing package will support the company's needs for raw materials and ‘boost its production of high-quality steel,’ the reports stated. As written in the agreement, the IFC will provide an advisory role to support the company's projects, which focus on reducing carbon emissions. Source: Ahram Online, 25 September 2023

www.steeltimesint.com

Industry NEWS.indd 4

October 2023

11/10/2023 16:23:03

INNOVATIONS SPECIAL

Reducing a vehicle’s mass is an effective way to reduce its CO2 emissions.

A ‘lighter touch’ for automotive manufacturing By Sangram Dash* According to its Fact Sheet: Europe report, the International Council of Clean Transportation states that: ‘With the direct correlation of weight and mass, the heavier a vehicle is, the greater its fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Therefore, reducing mass is an effective way to reduce a vehicle’s emissions.’ One way to achieve this is through ‘lightweighting’, which entails building cars and trucks that are less heavy as a way to achieve better fuel efficiency and handling. McKinsey & Company’s Lightweight, heavy impact report calculates that: ‘Lightweight measures can help reduce CO2 emissions to a certain extent (approximately 0.08g CO2 reduction per kilogram saved).” It continues: “If an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) manages to reduce the vehicle weight by 100kg, it saves approximately 8.5g CO2 per 100km.’ The example illustrates how lightweighting can benefit vehicle performance. However, while OEMs are embracing lighter materials like aluminium to achieve this, lightweighting is not simply about choosing whichever material weighs the least. Popular materials for automotive parts like forged steels, cobalt chrome, Inconel or grey and nodular cast iron are still prevalent – even though they weigh more than aluminium and magnesium. Instead, manufacturers must design engineer these ‘heavy’ metals into being a weight-efficient and strong alternative to lighter metals. That means producing near-net shaped parts based on more complex designs. What’s more, many of these designs demand a lighter cutting action

to minimize impact on the tool and ensure the component stays in shape. The challenge for OEMs is to manufacturer these more-complex components to the highest quality, and with high productivity. But, how can manufacturers achieve this while adhering to emissions regulations and maintaining a low cost-per-component? The answer lies in more reliable, accurate and productive tooling solutions.

The right angle Automotive manufacturers must strive to outperform the competition when machining more complex, near-net shaped parts from tough ISO-P materials. Achieving this depends on their choice of cutting tool. For instance, cutting tools with 90 degree lead angles generate radial cutting forces and, importantly, transfer more cutting energy away from the part. This is especially ideal when machining parts with thinner walls or nearnet-shapes. This brings us to shoulder milling, a basic-yet-versatile milling application that is recommended when there is a need to produce a variety of components, and for large amounts of material to be removed quickly from the workpiece. With shoulder milling, the tool creates a plane and shoulder surface simultaneously, which is why a 90° angle to the workpiece is preferred. Other angles can, and are, used depending on the application, but it’s essential that the right angle is used to avoid unwanted offsets between the cutter and workpiece.

There are a number of shoulder milling tooling inserts on the market designed for a near-90° milling angle. Generally, these inserts have eight edges – four on the front and four on the back to produce the shoulder and plan simultaneously – or six, in some cases. However, Sandvik Coromant’s tooling specialists felt there was room for a new shoulder milling concept that brings tool-life and productivity advantages, as well as economic benefits, for its customers. The result is CoroMill® MF80, designed for automotive milling applications in ISO-K and ISO-P materials. The inserts have eight cutting edges, chip protection and optimized micro geometry for enhanced security and chip evacuation, as well as a wiper edge for improved surface finish. The cutting edge is inclined for smooth cutting action and low cutting forces, making it ideal for thin-walled components and machine set-ups with limited stability. Based on a technology platform similar to the existing CoroMill® 345, this new milling concept offers a 40% lighter cutter body with shim protection and a high number of inserts for secure and stable machining, even in vibration-prone overhang applications. The 89.5° approach angle enables the multi-edge cutter to work close to the fixture while machining. The near-90° angle also reduced axial forces, for improved milling on thin wall components and weak fixtures without vibration and chatter. This not only improves accuracy and machine utilization, but also ensures longer tool life with less scrap.

*Product application manager for indexable milling at Sandvik Coromant October 2023

innovations special.indd – read MM..indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 12:39:49

9 CoroMill® MF80 from Sandvik Coromant is designed for automotive milling applications in ISO-K and ISO-P materials.

Performance tests

Shoulder milling is a basic-yet-versatile milling application recommended for producing a variety of components.

www.steeltimesint.com

innovations special.indd – read MM..indd 2

The performance of CoroMill® MF80 has been tested against competing mills when machining both ISO-K and ISO-P materials. Let’s look first at the ISO-K performance test, where the competing tool and CoroMill® MF80 were each used in a roughing application, to produce carriers and supports from an ISO-K spheroidal graphite (SG) iron (GJS400/K3.1.C.UT) workpiece. Both tools were run with the same cutting data – including a spindle speed (n) of 1000 revs per minute (rpm), a cutting speed (vc) of 250 metres per minutes (m/min) and table feed (vf) of 1,200 millimeters per minute (mm/min). Each mill was run with a 20-80 mm radial depth of

cut (ae) and 2-3 mm axial depth of cut (ap). There was a slight difference in feed-per-tooth (fz), 0.24 mm for the competitor’s mill and 0.3 mm for the CoroMill® MF80. In the end, the competitor’s mill produced 10 components in 55 minutes before showing signs of wear. CoroMill® MF80, on the other hand, ran for 82 minutes and produced 15 components in that time. The result for the customer was a tool life increase of 54% using Sandvik Coromant’s mill. In another instance, CoroMill® MF80 was run against a competitor’s mill in a rough shoulder milling application, to produce pump and valve components from an ISO-P carbon steel (DIN 1.0619) workpiece. Again, the mills were run with identical cutting data – an n of 500 rpm, a vc of 125 m/mm, ae of 15/50 mm and ap of 5 mm and fz of 0.15 mm – with one exception, the vf. The competing mill was run at 375 mm/min and CoroMill® MF80 was run at 600 mm/min. In this case, the competing mill produced nine components while CoroMill® MF80 produced 15, a productivity increase of 60%. As for tool life, after 40 minutes of machining time, only chipping wear was visible on the CoroMill® MF80 and the mill gave a tool life increase of 67%. For the customer, the key advantage here was that the mill’s shim protection and the high number of insert edges can lower the cost-per-part in roughing/ shoulder milling applications. Processes like these will be essential in helping manufacturers produce vehicles that meet CO2 emission regulations, while maintaining a lower cost-per-part. For further information, log on to www.sandvik.coromant.com October 2023

10/10/2023 12:40:01

INNOVATIONS

News supervisory system from ABD Solutions

Vehicle automation provider, ABD Solutions, has developed a new Mobile Supervisory System for its vehicle automation solution, Indigo Drive. According to the company, it allows mining vehicles to be automated anywhere in the world without the need for existing infrastructure. “Indigo Drive automates existing vehicle fleets, accelerating autonomy at a fraction of the cost of replacing the fleet with autonomous equivalents,” said Matthew Price, managing director of ABD Solutions. “Autonomous vehicles are revolutionising the mining industry by increasing efficiency, improving safety, and reducing costs. Our new mobile solution is enabling these benefits to be extended across the entire mining operation, wherever it is in the world.” The compact Mobile Supervisory System consists of the servers and operator stations that

enable a site to manage its fleet of automated vehicles. It can be fitted into various configurations including a vehicle, such as a van, or a mobile container and can be placed in the most remote and hostile environments. It acts as the operations centre for Indigo Drive, a technology ecosystem that is claimed to enable a limitless number of mining vehicles to be automated. The secure system is IEC61508: 2010 and ISO17757: 2019 certified and includes a user-friendly software interface for route-planning, the hardware to move the vehicles (such as drive-by-wire and driving robots), communication (radio, V2X, GPS/GNSS), obstacle detection (LiDAR, camera, radar) and vehicle health and diagnostics (OBD2, telemetry, sensors). The system is completely modular and can be tailored around the specific vehicles and environments.

As a fully redundant high-availability system, the new Mobile Supervisory System ensures there is no single point of failure, providing a high level of reliability and continuous operation, claims ABD Solutions. The level of redundancy is scalable to meet the desired application. ABD Solutions has also developed a Mobile Supervisory System demonstrator van that contains everything needed for operators to supervise a fleet of Indigo Drive automated vehicles. It will be used to demonstrate the technology to prospective customers at their sites around Europe or at ABD Solutions’ test track in the UK.

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

Haver & Boecker Niagara opens service centre Systems supplier Haver & Boecker Niagara has recently opened a new service and support facility in Parauapebas, Brazil. The company welcomed clients, partners, friends, and city authorities to the grand opening celebration on 18 May 2023. The 4,000 square-metre facility provides service and support for mining operations throughout the region through cutting-edge diagnostics, equipment refurbishment and parts stocking. “Providing quality service and support is at the heart of what we do. At Haver & Boecker Niagara, we strive to be an extension of an operation’s service team,” said Clayton Carvalho, managing director of Haver & Boecker Niagara’s Brazil operation. “We offer an array of service and support options to increase customer savings and equipment longevity. With the addition of the Parauapebas facility, we can more easily provide unmatched service and support on-site for our customers to help maximize their screening performance.” The company’s new facility offers the capacity to manufacture 800 different part numbers and

can refurbish 120 vibrating screens and 240 exciters. It features a paint booth, a rainwater collection system, water treatment, water, and oil separation, 100% LED lighting with lower energy consumption and a natural lighting structure. Additionally, the new Parauapebas facility features a 50/15-ton overhead crane, a blasting booth and air conditioners. “It is a great honour and a source of pride for all of us at Haver & Boecker Niagara to launch this facility. It is a display of growth not only for the company but for the entire local population,” Carvalho said. “Today, Haver & Boecker Niagara is responsible for the production of more than 50% of the mining equipment in the Brazilian region. With the anticipated demand, the new service centre further benefits the community by increasing job opportunities for the local community.”

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

October 2023

innovations.indd – read MM.indd 1

10/10/2023 12:42:00

INNOVATIONS 11

Primetals acquires cutting technology Primetals Technologies has acquired the cutting technology of the Spanish company TCT Torch-Cutting Technologies. Contracts for the long-term provision of specialized services were also concluded with some key people to ensure the long-term further development of the solutions. Founded in 2009, TCT offers a wide range of solutions for all types of cutting applications in steel mills, rolling mills, forges, foundries, and scrap yards. The acquisition of TCT assets enables Primet-

als Technologies to fully integrate flame cutting technology not only into the continuous casting segment but also into the broader range of automation solutions developed for this area. “This integration is an additional means to advance the development of new solutions while maintaining our high quality standards,” said Harald Trost, general sales manager of TCT. “With the acquisition of TCT cutting technologies and the support of TCT key people under a long-term service agreement, we have created a solid basis for the mutual maintenance and

further development of Primetals Technologies’ reliable and high-performance cutting technologies in various areas,” commented Thomas Brunner, senior vice president and commercial director of casting and ESP at Primetals Technologies. “Furthermore, TCT and Primetals Technologies are perfect partners for each other as we share the same goal and love what we do – it’s our passion.” For further information, log on to www.primetals.com

Thermo Fisher launches X-ray Diffractometer Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched the Thermo Scientific™ ARL™ X’TRA Companion X-ray Diffractometer to support cost-effective routine phase analysis for quality monitoring in any laboratory. This benchtop θ/θ Bragg-Brentano X-ray diffractometer features a configuration that, according to Thermo Fisher, offers accuracy, precision, safety, and ease of use – in a compact, low maintenance design that can be easily incorporated into any setting. Its solid state 2D detector ensures high resolution data is collected within minutes, to support efficient and informed process control and consistent product quality. The ARL X’TRA Companion X-ray Diffractometer is the latest instrument within Thermo Fisher’s X-ray diffraction (XRD) product line. The instrument enables analysis of phases in a wide range of samples, from clinker to battery materials. Its detector and precision optics provide accurate data, enabling users to carefully monitor the quality and consistency of their processes, manage costs of production, and comply with current regulations. Efficient sample loading and intuitive software streamline the workflow to improve throughput and productivity, claims Thermo

innovations.indd – read MM.indd 2

Fisher, while automated transmission of results to a laboratory information management system provides efficient and secure data management, says the company.

For further information, log on to www.thermofisher.com/xtra

10/10/2023 12:42:22

0.1 Rolling thin to drive green.

FIVES_AP-0.1_Laminoir.indd 1

29/08/2023 18:24:33

COLD ROLLING

Cold rolling mill

Rolling thin to drive green The DMS20Hi EcoMill, developed by Fives, a global engineering group, has set a record in silicon steel cold rolling. Electrical steel, also known as silicon steel, is a special steel tailored to specific properties to achieve low electrical losses and high magnetic permeability for applications in electrical devices, such as motors and transformers. Electrical steel is produced in non-grain oriented (NGO) and grain oriented (GO and HiB) grades. Today, ultra-thin electrical strips are in high demand by the market. The thinner the strip, the more efficient the electrical equipment. The challenge for steelmakers is to roll the strip down to minimum thickness without breaking it while maintaining surface quality and flatness. Unique achievement in cold rolling Fives, a global engineering group, has set a record in silicon steel cold rolling. The DMS 20Hi EcoMill, a proprietary technology developed for cold rolling, enables a strip to be rolled down to 0.1mm on the full width of 1,250 mm, which represents a unique achievement in the industry. The new rolling mill was supplied to Xinyu, part of China’s Baowu Group, and is capable of producing 100kt (metric tons) of high-quality NGO grades at a rolling speed of 800m/min. These steel grades are mainly dedicated to high-performance electrical motors requiring high-quality silicon steel. www.steeltimesint.com

Fives.indd – read MM..indd 1

DMS 20Hi mill – commissioned at Xinyu, Baowu Group, China

Technological superiority The 20Hi rolling mill has proven to be the best available technology to allow steelmakers to achieve the targeted properties in terms of thickness and flatness with a high level of productivity. The latest developments on the DMS 20Hi EcoMill include increased rolling speed and strip tension, advanced roll gap lubrication for higher product quality (flatness and magnetic properties), enhanced fume extraction, better strip wiping efficiency and an innovative concept for flatness actuators. These improvements have enabled the DMS 20Hi EcoMill to establish a new

standard of performance that has never been reached before. In addition, Fives has developed a new technology – RollBotTM – that automatically performs the roll exchange on 20Hi cold rolling mills with minimum manual intervention. This automated operation ensures maximum safety, quality, and productivity of the mill. These technological innovations enable steelmakers to reduce operating costs and increase the overall capacity of the mill, which is essential to stay ahead in the highly competitive steel market. � October 2023

11/10/2023 16:12:48

USA UPDATE

US Steel: up for grabs US Steel, the ‘icon’ of American steel production, is now on the market for acquisition – signalling a shift in the domestic steel industry. By Manik Mehta* THE bride did not seem to act coy, as some suitors showed an interest in seeking her hand. The ‘bride’ in question is US Steel, the icon of the nation’s steel industry, and the suitors who wanted to get hold of her hand are the other competing steel companies who want to covet the steel icon and acquire additional muscle power in the steel business. The uncertainty over the fate of US Steel, which some pundits feel is losing its iconic lustre, is also a reminder about the shift in the US economy – which is moving away from manufacturing in a development that will not be without economic and political consequences. US Steel’s fate could be a pointer to a trend that a similar fate could also await others in the industry. US Steel’s own history is also not without its share of mergers and acquisition. Founded in 1901, the Pittsburghheadquartered company was the result of a merger of leading steel companies of those times; it produced steel that elevated the US to the status of a global economic superpower, supplying the metal not only for infrastructure and development projects, but also for automobiles, appliances and other widely-used consumer products. However, US Steel began losing its sheen both in terms of its steel output and stock market value; indeed, the steel industry seems to have lost its star power worldwide, with none of the US steel

producers figuring in the world’s top 10 steel producing companies. Indeed, US Steel presently looks quite vulnerable and is a far cry from its once invincible position which was the envy of other corporations. It was also overtaken by competitors in Japan and Germany whose steel industry rose, literally, from the ashes of the Second World War. While the steel industry in the two countries also resorted to using new technologies that needed a smaller workforce and less energy, US Steel used the technology of the 1940s. Though it has been making profits, US Steel has faced an unsteady future as it has become the object of a near-frenzied takeover bid by rivals, some of whom hope to buy it for less than $9 billon. Even as steel producers in the US gradually started to upgrade their factories and equipment, the steelmakers, including US Steel, did not completely dispense with the old methods of steel manufacturing, resorting to melting iron ore in the gigantic blast furnaces. As a result, these steelmakers were trailing behind competing ‘mini mills’ which use EAFs to convert old steel scrap from used cars and other products. US Steel began using its first EAF only in 2020. Meanwhile, steel companies in China, India, and Korea had long overtaken US Steel in terms of capacity. The suitors One of the suitors is in fact an

amalgamation of former steelmakers who in the past 30 years either went bankrupt and saw their assets disposed or bought by other companies. This fate was shared by names such as Bethlehem, Inland and LTV. The ‘leftover’ assets of these companies became part of Cleveland-Cliffs which is reportedly also interested in a bid to take over US Steel. Another company that was bidding for US Steel is Esmark, a privately-owned steel-processing and distributing company, which after much deliberation, announced in August that it was withdrawing from the bidding. Esmark said that it had withdrawn from the bidding process out of respect for its relationship with the United Steelworkers’ union which is supporting Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in the latter’s bid to buy the Pittsburgh steelmaker. “Esmark respects the position of the United Steelworkers (USW), which is supporting Cleveland-Cliffs’ offer for US Steel. Esmark maintains a solid working and personal relationship with the USW organization and its leadership,” the company said. Esmark chairman and chief executive officer James Bouchard said the company had built a relationship with the USW that goes back to its acquisition of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel. The union was a partner, then, he said, ‘and we remain close with them.’ With Esmark having abandoned its bid for the takeover, there is now just one

*US correspondent, Steel Times International October 2023

USA Update – read MM..indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:22:39

USA UPDATE

publicly announced bidder, rival Cleveland-Cliffs, which is demanding that US Steel disclose to it any other takeover offers for the business. According to a Reuters report, ArcelorMittal is also considering a bid for US Steel. It remains to be seen which bidder will win in the end, and if the proposed deal would get past the nation’s anti-trust regulators. But Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio, has been voicing his opposition against any takeover attempt by foreign corporations, and issued a statement calling on US Steel to reject any bid from a foreign steelmaker, arguing that the company should remain in US ownership because of its ‘strategic national importance’. As of writing this update, US Steel had not commented on either the Esmark offer directly or on the reported interest by ArcelorMittal, other than to say that it is conducting a strategic review of its options. Be that as it may, it could well be that one of America’s leading companies may fall to a takeover bid and shed its hitherto identity in the nation’s steel landscape. US Steel became the object of acquisition interest following challenges it faced through the upgrading of furnaces and a potential automotive shutdown. This had affected its market valuation, as steel pundits familiar with the calculations of those bidding for US Steel believe. But the US Steel takeover would also raise questions of monopoly, national security, and offshoring jobs. US Steel stated in a recent letter addressed to shareholders that it was entering into non-disclosure agreements with ‘numerous third parties’ about a total or partial takeover. The company stated that it had announced a review on 13 August and had been ‘impressed by both the high-level of interest from potential transaction partners and the speed with which our team is working’. If the US Steel acquisition by Cleveland-Cliffs is sealed between the two sides, it would almost certainly attract the attention of the government which could then insist that Cleveland-Cliffs let go some of its assets to prevent it from becoming a bloated corporation with monopolistic characteristics. This view was expressed by several experts, including Shana Wallace, a professor of law at Indiana University Bloomington’s Maurer School of Law and an anti-trust expert who worked with the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. Primetals’ TCT Acquisition In other acquisition news, Primetals Technologies has acquired the assets and intellectual property of Spain’s Torch-Cutting Technologies (TCT) that would complement the former’s range of offer in cutting technology. TCT specializes in innovative solutions for all types of cutting applications in steel mills, rolling mills, forges, foundries and scrap yards. “The acquisition ensures that Primetals Technologies will be able to implement new, challenging projects that include ﬂame cutting technology with even more comprehensive expertise. The move also completes the strong and enduring relationship between Primetals Technologies and TCT in terms of pioneering cutting technology solutions,” Primetals Technologies claimed. Meanwhile, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported in early September that steel mills had shipped 7,550,446 net tons of steel in July 2023, down 1.6% from 7,676,083 net tons shipped in July 2022. Shipments declined by 1.4% from 7,655,692 net tons shipped in June 2023. Shipments during the first seven months of 2023 amounted to 51,866,292 net tons, down 3.3% compared to 53,649,221 net tons recorded in the corresponding seven month period of 2022. �

ACCUBAND

Crop Optimization System

ACCUBAND

+ ACCUCROP

Best head and tail imaging (ACCUBAND) “+” Best transfer bar tracking (ACCUSPEED) “+” Best crop shear control (ACCUCROP) “=” Best overall crop shearing accuracy Very quick return on investment (ROI)

Scan for details or reach out directly +1-416-445-5850 | kelk.sales@vpgsensors.com

12973-EN_May22

CONNECTING THE INTERNATIONAL FURNACES INDUSTRY

Furnaces International Buyers’ Guide The Furnaces International Buyers’ Guide is the essential guide to furnace manufacturers

FURNACES INTERNATIONAL BUYERS’ GUIDE 2023

and suppliers of furnace equipment and services to the industrial heating/process industry. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING OR HOW TO BE LISTED CONTACT:

ESME HORN

esmehorn@quartzltd.com | +44 (0) 1737 855 136

FURNACES-INTERNATIONAL.COM

www.steeltimesint.com

@Furnaces_Int

October 2023 Furnaces_Directory_HalfPageAd_PRINT.indd 2

USA Update – read MM..indd 2

ACCUSPEED

16/01/2023 10:36

10/10/2023 14:22:40

SWITCH TO SUSTAINABILITY

SAVINGS

You didn’t know you had Solar Turbines offers solutions for unsteady flows of wide composition fuel gases such as high H2, CO, CO2 and HCs. Transform what you thought was waste gas into valuable power and heat.

Ad Switch to Sustain 0922.indd 1

For more information visit us at www.solarturbines.com, call +1-619-544-5352 or email infocorp@solarturbines.com

2/28/2023 10:38:50 AM

LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Latin Amercian steelmakers are continuing to invest in projects that utilize the multiple advantages of solar energy. By Germano Mendes de Paula* SIMILARLY to wind energy, solar energy is gaining relevance globally. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), global solar energy capacity grew from 141GW in 2013 to 1,062GW in 2022, while production jumped from 138TWh in 2013 to 1,034TWh in 2021. Moreover, Wood Mackenzie forecasts that photovoltaic (PV) build-out will achieve record levels during 2023 at nearly 270GW direct current (GWdc). This will continue to accelerate to an annual level of 330GWdc by 2032, implying a 5.0% CAGR, driven by: a) ambitious renewable energy targets; b) increased electrification; c) coal plant phase-outs; d) energy security concerns; f) expanding policy support; g) falling solar levelised costs of energy (LCOE). Solar energy capacity in Latin America increased from 568MW in 2013 to 46.1GW in 2022 (Fig 1). Consequently, Latin America’s share of global capacity expanded from 0.4% to 4.3% (Fig 2). Its production grew from 765GWh in 2013 to 58.4TWh in 2021 (Fig 3), or respectively 0.6% and 5.6% (Fig 4). As of 2022, Brazil was the leader in terms of regional capacity with a 52% share, followed by Mexico (20%) and Chile (14%). However, production-wise, Mexico was in first place with a 35% participation, ahead of Brazil

(29%) and Chile (18%) in 2021. Therefore, these three countries combined were responsible for 86% of regional capacity in 2022 and 82% of production in 2021. Solar energy projects for Latin American steel companies The main goal of this article is to recapitulate some important solar energy projects that serve Latin American steelmakers, as a pathway to clean their energy matrix. In June 2004, Amanecer Solar CAP’s plant in Copiapo, Chile, was inaugurated. The project was developed and built by SunEdison Inc. The $250 million solar PV facility provides electricity to the CAP Group, an iron ore and steel producer, under an off-take agreement. Located in the Atacama Desert, the 101-hectare plant has more than 310k PV modules. It is a 100MV capacity project, aimed to generate approximately 270GWh/yr, corresponding to the annual consumption of 125k households. The plant generates the equivalent of 15% of CAP’s energy demand. At the time of its start-up, it was the largest PV solar park in Latin America. Pima Solar PV Park is located in Sonora, Mexico, with 110MW capacity. The project was developed by Infraestructura Energetica

Nova (IEnova). Construction commenced in 2018 and the park subsequently entered into commercial operation in 2019. At a cost of $115M, it generates 293GWh of electricity and supplies enough clean energy to supply 147k households, offsetting 195kt CO2/yr. The project consists of 443k PV modules, spread over an area of 362 hectares. The power generated from the project is sold to Deacero, under a power purchase agreement for a period of 20 years. In February 2022, Usiminas announced a partnership with Canadian Solar regarding PV renewable energy. The deal will increase self-production by an average of 30MW of renewable energy, which represents about 12% of the volume of energy consumed by the steel company. The construction of the solar park has investments estimated at $244M and is expected to begin in early 2024. The project will enter into commercial operation in January 2025. This a 15-year long-term energy purchase and sale agreement. The energy will be produced in a PV solar park to be installed in Luziânia (State of Goiás), which is located 885km from Ipatinga, the Usiminas’ largest industrial asset. Canadian Solar will be in charge of the capex. In February 2022, Gerdau and Shell

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

Latin America.indd – read MM..indd 1

October 2023

10/10/2023 14:24:18

LATIN AMERICA UPDATE

Fig 1. Latam solar energy capacity, 2023-2022 (GW)

Fig 2. Latam’s share of global solar energy capacity, 2023-2022 (%)

Fig 3. Latam solar energy production, 2023-2021 (TWh)

Fig 4. Latam’s share of global solar energy production, 2023-2021 (%)

unveiled the formation of a 50:50 jointventure for the development, construction and operation of a new solar park in Brasilândia de Minas (state of Minas Gerais), to be built in 2023, after the final investment decision is made. The park would have an installed capacity of approximately 260MW peak (MWp). It will supply 50% of the volume produced for Gerdau’s steel operations in Brazil, and the other half will be traded on the free market through Shell Energy Brasil, Shell’s energy trader. The agreement was approved by Brazilian antitrust watchdog CADE in July 2022. In November 2022, Gerdau announced that it would acquire one third of the capital of Newave, an energy generation platform, for the sum of $284M. One third of the amount will be paid initially, up to 18 months from March 2023, and two thirds will be paid upon the achievement of certain targets. Gerdau will have the right to acquire 30% of the energy generated by the power generation projects held directly or indirectly by Newave, in the selfproduction model. The operation represents an investment in the development of October 2023

Latin America.indd – read MM..indd 2

greenfield projects of electricity generation with a capacity of approximately 2.5GW, exclusively from solar or wind sources, with the expectation of starting generation in the years 2025 and 2026, in brownfield and electricity distribution projects. In April 2023, Gerdau Metaldom

announced it will invest $1.1M to change its energy matrix with a new solar park, where 3,336 modules of solar panels will be installed in Duarte Industrial Park, Dominican Republic, which will be built by TotalEnergies. The installation process will take an estimated time of three to six months,

and the total power of the park will be 1,499kW, with average annual production of 2,2GWh and an annual savings potential of $800k, which implies an outstanding pay-back. This project shows that solar energy can be useful not only in large steel plants, but also in smaller ones. Gerdau Metaldom is considering additional investments and aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy over the next two years. In June 2023, Enel Peru (a subsidiary of Italian utility enterprise Enel) and Gerdau Siderperu started up the first integrated solar plant located in Chimbote as part of a 12-month contract. The PV system consists of more than 900 solar panels with a capacity to produce 500kWp, with which it is expected to generate approximately 850MWh/yr, avoiding the emission of 170kt CO2/yr. To summarise, CAP in Chile made the first big step, followed by Deacero in Mexico. More recently, with the projects related to Usiminas (in Brazil) and Gerdau (in Brazil, Dominican Republican and Peru), it can be argued that within the context of Latin American steelmakers, solar energy is gaining momentum. � www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:24:43

20 INDIA UPDATE

Tata Steel merges its businesses While India’s economy continues to flourish, Tata Steel has capitalized on the opportunity; merging its multiple subsidiaries and joint ventures for better resource utilization and increased profitability. By Dilip Kumar Jha* WITH an annual capacity of 34Mt/yr, Tata Steel Ltd (TSL) stands as one of the world’s most geographically diversified steel producers, operating a fully integrated business that spans from mining to the manufacturing and marketing of finished products. Committed to continuous product innovation and customer value creation, the Tata Group of Companies has expanded to encompass 90 enterprises and operates in seven business verticals across over 80 countries on five continents. The Tata Group includes its subsidiaries, associates, and joint ventures. Spanning across India and Canada, its raw material operations enable the company to be self-sufficient for the group’s steel production needs. TSL’s key manufacturing functions are executed by the raw materials and iron-making groups, with shared services providing maintenance support for seamless production. In India, the downstream businesses are organized into strategic business units, including ferroalloys and minerals, tubes, wires, bars, metal sheets, and bearings, among others. While a substantial portion of its steel products is consumed within the downstream group companies, a major quantity is also sold externally to both domestic and international customers. One-Tata Steel Under the chairmanship of N Chandrasekaran, TSL is working to consolidate its business by amalgamating seven subsidiaries with a common synergy, aiming to create ‘One-Tata Steel’, which will be larger in size and merge some of their shared divisions for better resource utilization and increased profitability. In alignment with the Tata Group’s common objective, the board of directors of the parent company has approved the

Tata Steel’s production details (Mt/yr) Particulars

FY2022-23

FY2029-30*

Flats

Longs

Total crude steel

60-65

Tubes

Wires

0.45

Tinplate

0.38

DI Pipe

0.20

Upstream Iron ore Downstream

Source: Tata Steel: FY=Financial year beginning from April till March; * forecast

Tata Steel’s business verticals output (Mt/yr) Sectors

FY2020-21

FY2021-22

FY2022-23

Automotive

2.00

2.56

2.69

Branded products and retail

4.77

5.29

5.85

Industrial products and projects

5.71

6.38

7.25

Downstream

1.17

1.41

1.46

Exports

3.66

2.64

1.61

Total

17.3

18.3

18.9

Source: Tata Steel

consolidation of its business through the amalgamation of subsidiaries, a majority of which are incurring losses due to scattered businesses, outdated technology, and limited market penetration. Under the plan, Tata Steel Long Products Ltd, Tata Metaliks Ltd, The Tinplate Company of India Ltd, TRF Ltd, Indian Steel & Wire Products Ltd, Tata Steel Mining Ltd, and S&T Mining are proposed to be merged with the parent company, Tata Steel Ltd. Previous attempts to merge its only two group companies Tata Metaliks Ltd and Tata Steel Long Products, have been withdrawn. TSL has offered an attractive swap ratio for the benefit of its shareholders for each subsidiary proposed to be merged with Tata Steel. For example, shareholders will receive 17 shares of Tata Steel for every 10 shares held in TRF. Similarly, shareholders

will be entitled to receive 67 shares of Tata Steel for every 10 shares of Tata Steel Long Products Ltd. Furthermore, Tata Steel proposes to award shareholders 33 shares and 79 shares of TSL for every 10 shares held in the Tinplate Company of India Ltd and Tata Metaliks Ltd, respectively. The merger ratio for the other three subsidiaries, ie Indian Steel & Wire Products Ltd, Tata Steel Mining Ltd, and S&T Mining, however, remained unknown. Through these merger attempts, Tata Steel aims to become a giant steel producer and utilize the resources of the merged entities, which can be pooled to unlock untapped opportunities. The mergers will also result in the more efficient utilization of each other’s facilities and collaboration in marketing and distribution networks. TSL expects to complete the merger attempt

*India correspondent, Steel Times International October 2023

India Update – read MM..indd 2

www.steeltimesint.com

11/10/2023 16:25:30

INDIA UPDATE

W E

C O N V E Y

Q U A L I T Y

Pellet Cooling and Transport of subsidiaries with itself by the end of the current financial year, concluding on March 31, 2024. Tata Steel managing director T V Narendran has articulated a ‘5S’ strategy for the company, which includes: simplification, synergy, scale, and sustainability. “The proposed scheme will simplify the group’s holding structure, improve agility for quicker decisionmaking, eliminate administrative duplications, and reduce the cost of maintaining separate entities. The amalgamation will create a unified entity, leading to ‘One-Tata Steel’ in front of customers, which will enhance shareholders value,” he said. Furthermore, the proposed amalgamations will enhance management efficiency, drive sharper strategic focus, and improve agility across businesses based on strong parental support from Tata Steel leadership. The consolidation of downstream operations aligns with Tata Steel’s long-term strategy, enabling growth in value-added segments by leveraging Tata Steel’s nationwide marketing and sales network. The amalgamations will also drive synergies through raw material security, centralized procurement, inventory optimization, reduced logistics costs, and better facility utilization. Addressing shareholders, Umesh Kumar Singh, managing director of TRF Ltd, stated, “Significant growth opportunities are expected to emerge over the next few years in key sectors such as steel, mining, power, and ports, for new projects, equipment, and manufacturing services.” Capacity augmentation TSL has continued to make progress in augmenting capacity across multiple sites in India during the financial year 2022-23 (AprilMarch), aligning with the objective of achieving its 40Mt/yr target by 2030. Stepping in this direction, the company successfully commissioned the First Circuit of the 6Mt/yr pellet plant and the pickling line and tandem cold mill line of the 2.2Mt/yr cold rolling mill complex. These additions will drive cost savings and enrich the product mix. The company has remained focused on further expansion in Kalinganagar, Odisha, a coastal state in India. Recognizing the synergetic potential and proximity to the Kalinganagar plant, the company recently completed the strategic acquisition of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL). Through this acquisition, TSL significantly enhanced its long product portfolio and bolstered growth in this segment. Despite NINL having been shut down for almost three years, TSL ramped up production to its rated capacity within months of its acquisition. Moving towards a giant share The macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical factors have dominated the global business environment since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Looking ahead, emerging markets, led by India, will provide some cushion amid a slowdown in the global economy, driven largely by developed countries. However, India’s economic growth remains resilient, underpinned by the government’s capital outlay and robust private consumption. India’s steel consumption grew by over 10% year-on-year to reach 117Mt in the financial year 2022-23 (April-March). Given the current stage of development of the Indian economy and the focus on infrastructure development, steel demand growth in India is expected to keep pace with gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the next decade, with Tata Steel poised to grow faster than the rest of the producers in the industry. � www.steeltimesint.com

India Update – read MM..indd 3

• AUMUND Pan Conveyors for cooling and transport of Fe-Pellets • For hot pellets up to 800 °C • Designed with special air flow features and dedusting at the inlet

AUMUND Foerdertechnik GmbH metallurgy@aumund.de • www.aumund.com

11/10/2023 16:25:31

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

Steel – the past, present and future Danieli chairman Gianpietro Benedetti has valuable perspectives on plantmaking and steel production and insights on the concerns about energy, automation, the role for new technology, and more. Matthew Moggridge* travelled to Buttrio, Italy, to meet him. DANIELI is unique in the steel industry, being a front-running innovator of technologies for competitive green steelmaking, and also a leading producer of quality steel products. As the group’s chairman, Gianpietro Benedetti (pictured left) has the experience and expertise to be trusted on great matters affecting steelmakers worldwide. He has earned the trust of customers around the world, and he recognizes that the present time offers opportunities for progress along with the obvious risks to success. In this exclusive interview he describes his strategy for continued expansion at ABS, a quality steel mill in Cargnacco, Italy, near Danieli headquarters, and the site of the recent start-up of the Quality WireRod (QWR) mill. It’s a little known fact that Gianpietro has a passion for designing brooches and a strong interest in art both as a painter himself and a collector. He has also designed an award-winning motorcycle, the Virtual Lady.

*Editor of Steel Times International October 2023

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 11:28:46

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

I was impressed by the high level of automation at your new ABS mill.It looks like a car factory rather than a steel mill. Yes, this is very true. The Quality WireRod mill is the benchmark wirerod plant for special steel. It is a fully automated plant designed to have the greatest production flexibility (three processes can be selected within the line), with the target of zero men on the floor. Operators, controlling the mill from a single, remote pulpit made of an LED wall, are called to validate the suggestions from the artificial intelligence only in case of problems. Basically, the mill operates by itself, and a self-learning capability brings continuous improvement. I understand there are plans to expand facilities at ABS. The idea is for a new meltshop, to be able to fulfill the potential of the Quality WireRod mill. The concept for QWR is to roll just-in-time – meaning that it’s necessary to melt just what must be rolled a few hours later. And also to be able to supply in a short time, within a week, small lots, because as you know, speciality steel is produced only in small lots. So, to fulfill the QWR potential, to be able to be flexible, to serve the customer mostly small lots – it’s better to have a dedicated meltshop. The new ABS meltshop will incorporate other Danieli advanced technologies, including an automatic scrapyard, Digimelter, Digirefining, and bloom casting. The target is to fully digitalize ABS in the next two years. Danieli and ABS are located a short distance from one another and are in the same region, Friuli Venezia-Giulia. Can you explain the importance of Danieli’s influence in the region? The only influential thing we have done here in recent years is the elementary school, for children from three to 14 years of age. Why did we do it? Because in Italy, and maybe elsewhere, nursery schools, the kindergartens, start the day at nine o’clock in the morning and finish at four o’clock in the afternoon. This timing is not right for people who are working, and for their families. We did this to support families where both parents are working: We planned the nursery to start at 7:30 each morning, until www.steeltimesint.com

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 2

six o’clock at night. Normally, the schools finish for summertime, and the children’s parents have nowhere to place the kids. So we support the families here. And by doing this we try to encourage them to have more children, larger families, so that in 20 years’ time, when the population will have an average age of 50 years, there will be people here working to fund the pensions for the retired people. We are enrolling children up to 14 years old. We call this the ‘Zero-Tredici’ (0-13) Educational Hub. Of course, we took the opportunity to organize the school to offer training in ‘soft skills’. We are certified for the Cambridge School curriculum, so graduates will be qualified to go on to future education anywhere in the world. We have done all this to support the families living and working here, and to contribute to the vitality of this community and region.

And also to ensure high-quality standards of education? This is a very interesting point because the school is open not only to the children of our Danieli families, but to ‘external’ students, too, from the nursery school through elementary and secondary schools. The students come from all over this area, not only from the village here. And, as a credit to the teachers and the team, the reputation of the school is so high that we have enrolled students already for 2024-25. It is considered the best school in the region; they learn by doing. So, you can see the young people – girls and boys, four, five, and six years old – at the computer. I was amazed to see it. They play, but they learn the ‘soft skills’ that help them to work

together and to show initiative. The families of these students are collaborating in this effort. They are paying the cost of the education at the school – the teachers’ costs – while the building, lighting, the maintenance, and all of these things are arranged by Danieli. Are there other ways that Danieli is enriching the community? From time to time we have refurbished the artistic works and monuments in the area, the famous castle in Udine and its church, for example. But an important new effort to which Danieli is also contributing is the construction of a school – including high-tech laboratories – to prepare new technicians to operate in the electronic, mechanical, and mechatronic industries. This is called the MITS Academy, in Udine, for 600 students, but it will also contain libraries, restaurants and meeting areas. This place was the site of a fire many years ago, but now we will contribute to restoring it and transforming it into not exactly a school, but a place for people to meet, for the community to stage events and so forth. How has your outlook on the steel industry changed over recent years? The steel industry, especially in Europe, has a difficult moment now because, for sure, consumption will not increase – it will decrease. On top of that competitiveness has been killed, for the time being, because of energy costs. If it continues like this, the United States will not import any more steel. But they will be able to export steel because energy costs there are one tenth of what they are in Europe. Also, in the United States they are investing in green steel production. We will be more than happy to supply new steel plants in the United States. Today, we are having plenty of success. In fact, we have an order backlog of 5.4 billion euros – and we will have the same next year – because we are happily enjoying the success of the innovation that we started almost 15 years ago. In the steel industry all innovations, if successful, will take 10 years or so before they are accepted by the market. This business is very conservative in that way. Can you describe your successes more specifically? October 2023

12/10/2023 11:28:54

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

Of course, we have now taken more than 25 orders for MIDA QLP, endless castingrolling minimills for long products. Orders are coming in from around the world, including Japan. The front-runner market for MIDA is the United States, of course, with four plants ordered by Commercial Metals Company (CMC), three by Nucor Corporation and one by Pacific Steel Group. The last one will make direct use of renewable electrical energy produced on-site, that will power the Digimelter and the Digirefiner through the Q-One power feeder. And the same will happen with our QSP DUE for flat products. It is already very successful in China at SGJT, near to commissioning at Yukun, and the one that we are building now for Nucor Steel in West Virginia, will really prove that traditional hot-strip mills are in the past, because we will produce all the expected flat-product qualities there – including

You are referring to several decades of time. Practically, it must be the performance of the new plants during this period. Have they succeeded? We have improved the quality of the steel produced, the mechanical characteristics, the yield, the power consumption needed to produce one ton of steel years ago. And safety, of course. Today, steel can be produced with zero people on the floor. I recall we were producing hot-rolled finished products from liquid steel in three hours, while today, by operating our MIDA plants, less than 30 minutes is needed. Of course, there is much more automation now than in the past. And reduced energy consumption is one of the results of that, as today with the new technology we are really proceeding toward net-zero carbon emissions. We will never be truly at net-zero because within the steel you still find carbon! But we will reduce CO2 emissions by 90-95% with the new plants.

exposed automotive parts – with direct rolling.

Is that your forecast for the transition to green steel production? Nowadays there are six or seven different ideas for steelmakers to make the transition from blast furnace ironmaking to the electric arc furnace. The main issue is the availability of iron ore. If there is good quality iron ore to feed to a direct reduction process, the transition will be very easy: direct reduction, followed by hot charging into the electric arc furnace. Of course, another step in such success can be the Digimelter, which will optimize electric power performance for steelmaking. With Energiron, the direct reduction technology jointly developed with Tenova, another Italian company, Danieli can offer a process that is ready to utilize hydrogen as a reducing gas, from zero to 95%, depending on availability. So, there we are. The future of the blast furnace will be linked to the availability of

Can you be more specific, please? My point of view is that the future model is direct rolling, without reheating furnaces. Liquid steel from electric arc furnace or BOF, then casting, and rolling – all without storage, and again without reheating. Now, normally we can state that when you succeed in reducing OpEx and CapEx, automatically you will also reduce CO2 emissions. So, today at Danieli we are happy to enjoy such innovations that guarantee us an acceptable workload. For the future we must continue to improve such innovations, and proceed towards a model for direct rolling for speciality steel. How has the steel industry changed over the course of your career? October 2023

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 3

DRI-grade iron ore, worldwide. If we cannot increase the total output of direct reduction to 100Mt/yr in a short time – before 2030 – we will not have all the first-quality iron units needed for electric steelmaking, and so we must continue to utilize the iron ore smelters which can handle ores of lower quality but require further downstream refining treatments. So, in the foreseeable future we will have iron ore pelletizing or briquetting, direct reduction, smelters, and electric arc furnaces, and that’s it. Coal/coke-based blast furnaces will see lower and lower investments. That is the current direction. Anyway, the concern about the green steel transition sometimes might sound odd, considering that in some parts of the world there is still a continuing supply of blast furnaces. So, blast furnaces are still very much in demand? Yes, it is a very important process technology for top-quality flat products. Danieli has already proved that blast furnaces can be replaced by installing suitable electric steel meltshops with LFs and VDs, capable of producing all steel grades except automotive exposed, which is a niche, but we are working on it. In fact, our target is to produce automotive exposed grades with the Digimelter (EAF) and direct rolling. In Europe, hopefully, while we are proceeding with these decarbonization programmes, our governments will organize penalties at the borders – CO2 taxation. That means that if someone wants to import steel produced with blast furnace iron, they must pay a tax to compensate the people that have invested in production technologies in order not to produce CO2 emissions. I hope that they will do that, and they will do that if our future in Europe is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. Danieli is equipped for that, and in the meantime will enjoy the success gained with direct rolling. And that is an important thing. Direct rolling means no heating furnace, etc. And now we will also try to eliminate the gas fueling these plants, substituting electricity for natural gas. Can you explain Danieli Green Metal? It is a group of people who are bringing together all the technologies we have www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 11:29:07

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

available for green steel, in melt shops, in direct reduction and in rolling mills to design a general layout for green steel. That is their job: putting together the different technologies that we have to reduce CO2 emissions in all the departments, and then design the layout to do so. Do you think steel decarbonization will succeed on schedule by 2050? In Europe it will happen; in China it is happening; and in the United States it is happening because that is where there is the highest number of electric arc furnaces in operation. I am confident that all the others will follow. Can you identify the customer for any of these decarbonization projects? To mention only the main projects, in China, Baosteel and HBIS are installing their Energiron hydrogen-fueled direct reduction plants, and in Europe Salzgitter and Tata Steel are doing the same. Actually, HBIS has just started up its DRI plant using 60% of hydrogen, contained in syngas. Other European players, like Dillinger and Thyssenkrupp, are going to invest in direct reduction to replace blast furnaces. Moreover, in Sweden, through the Hybrit project developed together with Danieli and Tenova, LKAB has paved its way to direct reduction and is now planning to install a 1.3Mt/yr Energiron DRI plant utilizing 100% hydrogen, thus releasing into the atmosphere just water instead of CO2. ArcelorMittal has a programme to install several Energiron direct reduction plants coupled with Digimelter furnaces in Europe and elsewhere. In Italy there is the ongoing project to install a direct reduction plant at the ILVA steel complex in Taranto. In Canada there is another clear example of transition from ironmaking to electric steelmaking by Danieli Digimelter, at Algoma Liberty Steel. Also the new Danieli QSP-DUE quality hot-strip plant being supplied to Nucor in the USA, which will feature electric steelmaking and direct casting-rolling. And they are considering direct reduction to feed the EAF. So, if they do that, this would be a perfect flat-rolling plant for steel sheets. Nucor is very advanced, as you know. Is large-scale, hydrogen-fueled steelmaking possible? www.steeltimesint.com

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 4

It will be done more in a regional way, mainly applied to regional minimills, let’s say up to 1Mt/yr This means that some big integrated plants will remain, such as POSCO in South Korea which produces 1.6-1.8Mt/yr of special steel for selective applications out of a total of around 35Mt/ yr. New plants must be flexible – to work on demand and still produce quality steel, specialized or based on regional operations, driven with AI. Practically, they will receive an order, summarize the orders, and then automatically organize production and raw materials in relation to the orders and the finished products they want to produce. These new plants will be compact, run only by a few people, with everything managed automatically. Highly skilled professionals will work only by day, establishing a standard. And on the other shifts operators will just push buttons with changes implemented automatically. In any case, H2 production is very costly as it requires a lot of energy and water. Most probably more time is needed to improve electrolyzer efficiency up to 80%, to substantially reduce the costs. Also, mini nuclear-power stations will come up. Will automation attract younger people to work in the steel industry? To find capable operators, specialized people to manage a full shift, is difficult. The way to do it is to have young people and skilled workers available during the day shifts, to help prepare everything, and the rest of the work must be carried out automatically. There will be some people ‘supervising’ normal operation, but not skilled workers. Is the steel industry doing enough to attract younger people? Yes, for sure. Unfortunately, some steel operations, integrated plants, are not well kept, but if you go to Austria and look at voestalpine in Linz, things are very different. It is an integrated mill in the middle of the town, where the quality of the environment and life is more than fine. There are no problems with dust, smoke, or noise. In Linz, you go from the town into the shop, and there is no difference. The nearest private house is just 30m from the gate. Of course you can eliminate, and they will eliminate, CO2 emissions. In future I think that the steel industry will be more perfect environmentally speaking.

NEW

BOOST YOUR IMPACT SAVE ENERGY COSTS

One step ahead in the evolution of descaling With SCALEMASTER ECO+, green steel becomes a reality. Its new booster with integrated filter offers more impact than ever and thus added potential in terms of surface quality and energy savings. • Patented multi-channel design for highest impact • Rigid design for roughest system conditions • Made from stainless steel for long service life • Integrated fine filter for clogging-free and safe operation

Check your benefits https://lechler-event.de/ scalemaster

www.lechler.com 12/10/2023 11:29:09

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

And with high value-added jobs this is also important. Also, reducing the number of people, but increasing their professionality means that salaries can be much greater than in the past, because they are related to the new skill-level requirements. Once younger people appreciate this, I think they will come to work in the steel industry, playing with their computers, with programs, with artificial intelligence, and they will enjoy their work. What is Danieli’s experience attracting a younger generation of workers? It’s difficult everywhere. I was talking yesterday with a Mexican customer and he was telling me that they have difficulties in Mexico with young people too. They find that some of them come to work, and then one day they say, “Sorry, this week I quit.” What happened? It was nothing.

They expect that they can stay out for two, three months, and then find another job (laughter.) It’s the same in the United States, everywhere. After the COVID pandemic, for some psychological reason, things changed. The only solution I know, honestly, and based on Danieli’s experience over recent years, is to co-operate with technical schools and universities to organize projects, real projects that involve students and teachers. In that way, we can see who is fully motivated to do real work. They can chart a pattern for the boys and the girls, and also they are measuring how to take better advantage of their talents. Danieli is looking at this and suggesting, and maybe also selecting, the characteristics of the people that are needed. Close co-operation with the schools, and learning by doing, are – in our view – the best way to find the right people. And, if a young person is motivated, this is better still and will have material October 2023

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 5

advantages. For example, recently I gave an instruction that the best students – actually the best candidates for us – should be offered a starting salary 35% higher than what is the rule for today. What is Danieli’s role in supplying equipment for decarbonization programmes? We have a process for producing hydrogen, fed by wind or hydraulic power, to make hydrogen with either of those energy sources, to supply the direct reduction process. We will feed the DR process with either one of those power sources, and from direct reduction proceed to the Digimelter. Everything will be electrically powered. Zero gas, all the way through to the finish. Beautiful, quality steel coils will be produced.

How does Energiron direct reduction differ from the Midrex process? Energiron offers the possibility to produce DRI to match any steelmaking process – and it’s ready to utilize hydrogen as a reduction gas, while Midrex must revise its process, a lot, and once done, the first will be practically a prototype. If customers want to have the option for hydrogen, Energiron is available. And for that reason, we are given some technology advantage today. That was the reason, for example, that Tata Steel in the Netherlands chose Energiron for its carbon-less project, because they want to power the direct reduction process with hydrogen. They want to feed the direct reduction unit with pellets from the blast furnace, and lump ore. This is an example of how to have direct reduction and a smelter. Also, all Energiron plants are hydrogenready by design. So those we have already

supplied will be able to use hydrogen, with a very small modification. It will not be a new technology to be tested, or that will disrupt the plant operation. They can go from 10% up to 95% of hydrogen at any moment. What are your thoughts on the different hydrogen-fuel production methods? I think that all the processes are the same thing – just with different names. And maybe one or two are a little more consistent, because some companies have the competence to do such projects, and this will make the difference. Will all these different projects achieve 100% green steel? Green steel – that means 90% net zero carbon, or something near that level. You need to have energy, either hydrogen or some other form. Some people are producing a few tons and claiming to produce green steel. Fine, but at the end of the story, you need the energy. Hydrogen is not the question. The question is the cost of supplying hydrogen. Different governments are guaranteeing a certain cost for hydrogen to the businesses that will use it. But first of all, you need to manufacture hydrogen plants, and today it is only being done on a small scale. So now that is a development that will take another, what, five or six years to achieve that production? And cost is another issue because to produce hydrogen we will need a lot of energy and water. And that will be geographically determined? Exactly. Or we must have nuclear power. In fact, what is the competitive strength of the United States today? They are independent with energy, while Europe is not. And this is the issue. We can improve the situation with gas, but this will not solve the problem of CO2 emissions. The CO2 problem will be solved with sustainable wind towers, solar and nuclear power. How does Danieli – as a steelmaker at ABS – deal with energy costs? ‘Just suffering’ is what I was going to say, as all steelmakers are doing. We cannot influence any geopolitical matters. And then, of course, these situations are very fluid. www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 11:29:21

Futureproof solutions to unleash your

welding potential

Customizable and material-saving: thanks to its modular structure and customized software packages, the TPS/i can be easily adapted to suit individual welding requirements. Optimized welding processes such as CMT or LSC help to reduce welding spatter by up to 75% and not only reduce the consumption of weld filler me-

For further information,

tal, but time-consuming and cost-intensive reworking too.

visit: www.tps-i.com

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

Most probably the world market will be restructured. How? I don’t know. Nobody knows. Of course, Italy is among the ‘old’ countries where steel consumption will not go up; it will go down. China will stay the same, more or less. India will ramp up. The same will apply to some Southeast Asian countries. It is very difficult to understand what the market will be like in five to 10 years, and where new plants are going to be installed. We must be flexible. At Danieli Group we are flexible, because we have factories in India, China, Thailand and in Europe to innovate, develop, and build quality equipment for the plantmaking sector.

use of the Q-One power feeder. Motor drives for machines, which start and run only when needed, on demand, in a very rapid reaction time, are also designed and manufactured for rolling mills, scrap shredders and extrusion presses, for example. It also provides measuring systems, detection systems, visual systems and fully automated production processes. Danieli Automation made it possible for us to achieve general plant layout and general functioning, which is possible only if we have our own automation company, without disclosing the process knowhow. This means that we can do complete, new plants, and in the future fully digital plants.

In relation to the energy crisis, would you call yourself an optimist? We need to consume less energy, of course.15 or 20% savings can be achieved without big changes. I am confident that in three years the situation will not be like it was in 2021 or like it is today. We will be consuming less energy, and the cost of energy will follow market rules as per the oil. Today we have to produce while bearing the major energy cost increases. Of course, later, after some time, we may apply the extra charges for energy, but first we must endure the cost in order to honour our commitments to supply our steelmaking and plantmaking customers. Tell me about Danieli Automation’s role in ‘digitalization’ and the development of smart factories. Danieli Automation is doing very well, because it has developed AI functions and the Danieli Intelligent Plant concept, which collects large volumes of data and also allows the operator – in case of problems of interest – to see the production data related to the moment when something has happened, and those are called points of interest. So, this is a functionality that is supported by Artificial Intelligence, and it helps the plant to learn what to do in case the same situation occurs again. Digitalization is also applied to electric steelmaking (EAF and LF) through the digital control of the arc, without moving the electrodes. More power availability, lower electrodes and power consumption, along with almost negligible disturbances to the power grid are associated with the October 2023

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 6

after two or three years, most probably ABS will go up. So, the two activities are balanced financially. It’s interesting. What’s your vision for the ABS side of the Group, going forward? Since we took over ABS in 1995 we have invested 980 million euros there. This made ABS the only steelmaker in Europe that can produce from 5.5mm to 500 mm rolled bars, plus ingots and forgings with Rotoforge technology. This means that with the same philosophy producing from 5.5mm to 500mm diameter bars, we are covering a lot of utilization segments – mechanical grades, wind towers, drawing steels, balls, gears, covering all these – but it is not the same demand. And the product diversity balances the market requirements, allowing us to keep up production levels. Do you think that you will ever build a third ABS steel mill? To expand at ABS headquarters, no. We are considering another site to install a MIDA QSP-DUE plant, in Italy in co-operation with Metinvest. The target is to produce competitive green steel, top-quality thin-gauge strip coils – including automotive and exposed grades – in direct rolling mode. We will see.

Does having your own steelmaking business help in developing steel production technology? For sure, ABS is the first to test all the prototypes that we have, and technically this is an advantage. That is number one. Number two – financially, we have discovered that, when the steel market is up, Danieli’s plantmaking business is reasonably good and ABS is making money. When steel consumption goes down, ABS profits drop immediately, while Danieli plantmaking will continue to have reasonable results for two to three years, based on the wave of demand that followed from the income earned by the steelmakers during their hot turn. While Danieli plantmaking will go down

How is ABS performing globally? As a speciality steelmaker we are the front-runner in Italy, and among the three front-runners in Europe. And we are frontrunning overall, not only in quality and volume but in safety and minimizing CO2 emissions. Danieli aims to be the front-runner in both activities, steelmaking and plantmaking, production and processes. What sets Danieli apart from its competitors? I would highlight a combination of process layout and automation, high-performing reliable equipment and the spirit of continuous innovation which guides us every day. A few decades ago, we were number 3031 in plantmaking and there were all the German companies like Demag and others. In the UK there was the famous Davy, in Italy Pomini, Innocenti, in the United States Wean, United, and Morgan. And finally in Sweden, there was Morgardshammar. Our strategy was to escalate, to expand www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 11:29:28

PROFILE: GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI

our product offering, and so we did; we started to escalate, escalate, escalate, and now we are number two in the market – or maybe number one. I don’t know for certain. Of course, our aim is to be number one. To do this – competence, of course, plus action are needed, along with the capability to accept risks. At that time we were producing only rolling mills for rebars and continuous casting machines for billets. Now our offerings cover everything from iron ore to finished products, long, flat, tubes, forging, extrusion, including turnkey and auxiliary plants; we do everything. The secret was expanding the product offering by buying companies. We were lucky to have the money to buy Morgardshammar, Wean, and United. Then Centro Maskin in Sweden, followed by Rotelec in France. And also Davy, in the UK for the slab casters. This is not enough: we continue to innovate – and to innovate you need ideas, hence the new Danieli Research Centre. How do you maintain a supply of ideas?

We must have the attitude to expand our limits, and to do more. What helped me, believe it or not, was that when Danieli was a small company I was a volunteer to start up new plants. For six years I went around the world to start up plants in South Africa, Rhodesia (at that time, now Zimbabwe), Nigeria, Greece, and Italy, of course. And by doing this I learned a lot of things, and still today, some experiences that I had at that time are helping me find solutions, to take a decision, to have an idea. It has been fantastic, and I surprise myself. At that time we were supplying rolling mills only for long products, but the same concepts can apply to flat products, as we still refer to power, torque, reduction, thermo-mechanics and metallurgy. What was the main plantmaking business and where are you seeing most of your activity at the moment? Over the last year, servicing existing technologies was about 20-30% of Danieli’s business. The rest was, and continues to be, supplying new plants like MIDA QLP and QSP direct rolling plants, Energiron DRI

plants and Digimelters. The largest market was and still is the United States. Looking ahead we believe business could significantly expand to solar plants. Look at this photo [he shows an image]: this is a CSP – Concentrating Solar Plant at Partanna, in Italy, supplied by Danieli Fata. There, flat-glass mirrors dynamically project reflected sun rays on tubes containing salt, to feed steam turbines. Thanks to the accumulation of heat, these CSP plants can provide energy for longer hours – after sunset – as compared to traditional solar panels, requiring less storage of energy. In certain areas where there is an abundance of sun, like for the PSG project in California, we will supply these CSP plants along with MIDA minimills, (the first MIDA with solar power). This is because our patented Q-One system can feed the Digimelter directly with sustainable energy. And nobody else can do it. In conclusion the present and future call for ‘competitive green steel’: direct reduction, Digimelter and direct castingrolling. Fully digital plants utilizing machine learning, and in the future machine learning plus Quantum technology. �

Delivering Innovative Solutions. Your Success Is Our Goal.

Cut-To-Length Lines Crop Shears Rotary Shears

Stretcher Levelers Hydraulic Roller Levelers Scrap Choppers

We Build Things. Better. Salem, Ohio USA

When it comes to building equipment to process ferrous and non-ferrous metals, nobody does it better than Butech Bliss. For 135 years, steel producers and steel service centers have counted on Butech Bliss to deliver the design, engineering and technological advantages necessary to help them succeed. From entry to exit end we build it all. Our product lines include roller and stretch leveling technology, a full line of shears, material handling equipment and complete coil processing lines. We are more than a scrap chopper manufacturer. Learn more about our world-renowned coil processing technology call +1 (330) 337-0000, visit ButechBliss.com or email sales@butech.com. If our name is on the machine, it’s built better.

www.steeltimesint.com

Benedetti.indd – read MM.indd 7

October 2023

12/10/2023 11:29:30

MIDA–QLP

QSP–DUE

Buy the Original

MIDA–QLP and QSP–DUE are the winning Danieli direct-rolling technologies for the most competitive production of long and flat green-steel products. They are the result of the research and continuous improvement profused over 20 years, along with multi-million dollars of investment. Their unmatched performances have fueled their success worldwide, thanks to lower resource consumption and carbon emissions, unbeaten OpEx, and outstanding product quality.

So, top technology becomes copied technology, the shortest route for competitors that, abandoning their solutions, now try to imitate MIDA–QLP and QSP–DUE Equipment and layout may be copied, but experts know that details make the difference. Automation and process solutions are not easy to copy, and this will be the experience of anyone trusting in those imitations.

The competitive advantage for our customers, obtained by field results, is the best defense for our technology – more than court rulings protecting our patents. Danieli offers the best guarantees for speedy learning curves, steady performances, and now Digital Plants with no men on the floor. Buy the Original.

GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NIEL I M

E TA L

TRUE

REEN

Italy, Germany, Sweden, Austria, France, The Netherlands, UK, Spain, Turkey, USA, Brazil, Thailand, India, China, Japan

Danieli Headquarters in Buttrio, Udine, Italy www.danieli.com

@danieligroup

MIDA–QLP

QSP–DUE

Buy the Original

GIANPIETRO BENEDETTI CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

NIEL I M

E TA L

TRUE

REEN

Italy, Germany, Sweden, Austria, France, The Netherlands, UK, Spain, Turkey, USA, Brazil, Thailand, India, China, Japan

Danieli Headquarters in Buttrio, Udine, Italy www.danieli.com

@danieligroup

EUROPE

EU steel sector: uncertainty lingers

Turbulence in the international economy and social affairs have made the future of the EU steel sector complex to predict, says Alessandro Sciamarelli*, but continuing factors such as global inflation, and subsequent inflation hikes forecast slowing in output growth. DESPITE the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising energy and commodity prices coupled with very high inflationary pressures up to record-levels, real GDP growth in the EU in 2022 reached +3.5%. EUROFER’s GDP forecasts for the EU in 2023 have been marginally revised upwards compared to the previous outlook (+0.7% vs. +0.6%; +1% according to the latest European Commission forecast released in May 2023). However, overall economic uncertainty still lingers for 2023 and 2024. Thanks to the resilience of the economy and a buoyant contribution from the service sector, coupled with overall positive developments in the first half of the year, the EU avoided an economic recession in 2022 and is projected to achieve +0.7% growth in 2023. This marks a slowdown compared to 2022, mainly due to the impact of inflation reaching high historical levels and monetary policy tightening. Looking ahead to 2024, EU economic growth is expected to gain some ground again (+1.5%). The economic outlook has deteriorated considerably over the second half of 2022 due to the energy prices shock in July 2022, particularly in relation to natural gas prices which reached all-time highs in the following August (€340/MWh), before cooling off remarkably to pre-war levels (€37/MWh) in July 2023. In the first

quarter of 2023, the EU economy avoided a technical recession as real GDP grew marginally quarter-on-quarter after a drop of -0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022. However, Germany and the euro area generally did not fare as well, with Germany recording real GDP declines of -0.5% and -0.3% in the last two quarters, respectively, and the euro area seeing a decline of -0.1% each quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the EU’s real GDP continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace (+1% in the first quarter of 2023, following +1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022). Despite the latest leading indicators, which continue to signal weakness in the manufacturing sector, it appears unlikely that some economies (Germany, euro area) will experience a second consecutive real GDP drop in the second quarter of 2023, provided that the contribution to growth from the services sector remains positive as expected. The GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 should mark the trough of the current war-struck economic cycle. However, the outlook for 2023 remains exposed to many downside factors and economic growth appears to be weak and fragile. Among individual economies, Germany is projected to experience a moderate recession in 2023 (-0.4%), before recovering (+1.2%) in 2024, Sweden is also expected to face a

moderate recession (-0.4%) in 2023 and a subsequent recovery in 2024 (+1.4%). The forecasts for France, Italy and Spain predict their economies will grow in real terms by +0.5%, +1.2% and +2.3% in 2023 and by +0.8%, +1.1% and 2.1% in 2024, respectively. The latest IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2023) forecasts GDP growth of + 0.8% and +1.6% in the euro area for 2023 and 2024, respectively (with +0.1% and +1.4% projected for Germany). The OECD, in its latest Outlook (June 2023), estimates GDP growth in the euro area to be +0.9% in 2023 and +1.5% in 2024 (Germany: flat growth and +1.3% respectively). Inflation, at first perceived as temporary, has become a growing concern and reached highs unseen since 1985 in the EU. Inflationary pressures initially stemmed from the persisting bottlenecks affecting supply chains and scarcity of components, but they have continued to intensify and, as a result, the inflation rate peaked at 11.5% in the EU in October 2022. It was just 1.3% in February 2021. Data from May 2023 (7.1%) show some signs of easing. However, there are significant differences among EU member states: in June 2023, in Spain the inflation rate was below 2% (1.6%), while it was 6.8% in Germany. Although energy prices have decreased considerably (from 41% in June 2022 to

* Director, economic and steel market research, EUROFER (The European Steel Association). October 2023

EuroCoke.indd – read MM..indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

11/10/2023 16:26:28

EUROPE

-0.3% in May 2023), core inflation has increased from 5% in October 2022 to 5.4% in May 2023. This points to the fact that inflationary developments seem to be driven more by endogenous factors than by external shocks. Prices are expected to overall cool off in 2023 and 2024 (6.7% and 3.1% according to the European Commission, and 5.4% and 3% according to the European Central Bank, respectively). EUROFER foresees an inflation rate of 5.7% in 2023, further decreasing to 2% in 2024. This means that, despite some moderation, inflation is still set to remain around historically high levels throughout 2023. Due to the highest inflation rate over the last 35 years, central banks in advanced economies were bound to quickly reverse their hyper-expansionary monetary policy stance. The ECB has raised its policy rate eight times since July 2022, from zero up to 4.00%, with the last hike in June 2023. At least an additional hike is expected in July, as real interest rates remain negative and inflation is expected to remain well above the 2% ECB inflation target throughout 2023. This will inevitably reduce the room for manoeuvre for supportive fiscal policies, in particular government spending by EU member states, as borrowing costs will be higher – especially for highlyindebted economies. In addition, the ECB terminated its PEPP (the COVID-led exceptional Asset Purchase Programme), which helped keep government bond yields low for highly-indebted countries. On the other hand, the ECB also approved its new Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI) to ensure continuity with the former PEPP and help stabilise government bond secondary markets. Due to the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the need to continue providing public support to the economy, the Stability and Growth Pact has been suspended until the end of 2023. Steel demand outlook in the EU The downside factors severely impacting apparent steel consumption in 2022 and leading to recession (-7.2%) – i.e., war-related disruptions, poor demand outlook and severe rises in energy prices and production costs – are expected to continue to weigh until the second quarter of 2023 as a result of the prolonged effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and increasing inflation-led economic uncertainty. Consequently, apparent steel consumption is projected to contract www.steeltimesint.com

EuroCoke.indd – read MM..indd 2

even further in 2023, with a steeper rate of decline than previously foreseen (-3%, revised downwards from -1%). This would mark the fourth annual recession in the past five years. However, in 2024, apparent steel consumption is set to recover at a faster rate (+6.2%, previous estimate +5.4%), conditional on more favourable developments in the industrial outlook and improvement in steel demand. The overall evolution of steel demand remains subject to high uncertainty, which is expected to continue undermining real demand from steel-using sectors at least for the first half of 2023. It is anticipated that quarterly positive developments in apparent steel consumption will only start to emerge from the third quarter of 2023.

performance in 2019 (-2.9%). As a result of the unfavourable developments in the last two quarters of the year, in 2022 domestic deliveries markedly dropped (-7.9%). Mirroring the continued and quick deterioration in steel demand, imports into the EU (including semi-finished products) sharply decreased also in the first quarter of 2023 (-28%, after -33% in the preceding quarter). Overall, total imports from third countries in 2022 fell (-6.7%). However, it is worth noting that the drops in imports seen in the last three quarters essentially reflected weak demand conditions. Therefore, the share of imports out of apparent consumption remained considerably high in historical terms, even in the first quarter of 2023 (22%).

During the first quarter of 2023, apparent steel consumption in the EU continued to drop significantly (-11.7%), following another major contraction (-19.3%) in the preceding quarter. The total volume reached 34.5Mt, representing an improvement compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, which had experienced the lowest level ever recorded since the exceptional drop due to COVID in the second quarter of 2020. However, these volumes remained relatively low compared to the levels seen in 2021 and the first half of 2022. Domestic deliveries continued to mirror weak demand during the first quarter of 2023 and decreased (-6.2%) for the fourth consecutive quarter, albeit at a slower pace than in the preceding quarter (-15.1%). In 2021, deliveries rebounded significantly (+11.9%), after the sharp drop in 2020 (-9.6%) and the already negative

EU steel-using sectors Despite the challenges posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising energy prices, EU steel-using sectors’ output showed unexpected resilience and continued to grow up to the first quarter of 2023. The Steel Weighted Industrial Production index (SWIP) improved again (+3.7%, following +2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022). The overall positive evolution in the first quarter of 2023 was a combination of very favourable developments in the automotive, mechanical engineering and transport sectors on one hand, and a decline in output in domestic appliances, tubes, and metalware on the other. The construction sector experienced almost flat growth (+0.1%) and is anticipated to face recession in 2023. The positive trend started after the pandemic had continued so far in spite of rising energy prices impacting production costs, component shortages and lower output that took their toll on total production activity in steel-using sectors in the second half of 2022. The deterioration of the economic and industrial outlook in the EU has had only a limited impact on steel-using sectors’ output so far. Steel-using sectors’ output grew (+3.1%) also in 2022 following the post-COVID rebound (+6.7%) in 2021. However, growth is expected to slow down in 2023 but less than initially expected (+1.3%, revised upwards from +0.3%), albeit with wide differences among individual European economies. In 2024, steel-using sectors’ output growth is projected to further decelerate once again (+0.4%), largely due to a likely downturn in the automotive sector. � October 2023

11/10/2023 16:26:35

ELECTRIC STEELMAKING

Electric dreams Innovations in electric steelmaking, specifically arc furnaces and electromagnetic stirring, can help manufacturers boost efficiency, productivity, process control and sustainability. Zaeim Mehraban* and Lidong Teng** explain how.

INDUSTRIAL steelmaking is undergoing perhaps the most profound transformation in its long history. Driven by Industry 4.0 and the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with treaties such as The Paris Agreement on climate change, steelmaking is evolving from an energy and CO2intensive industry that deploys blast furnace-basic oxygen furnaces (BF-BOF) fuelled by coal and iron ore, to one that uses electric arc furnaces (EAFs) to produce steel mostly from scrap. The industry is responsible for around 7% of global CO2 emissions1, and the onus is on manufacturers to replace fossil fuel-based carbon with green hydrogen to produce steel more sustainably using renewable energy, while at the same time maximising production to satisfy growing demand as well as reducing raw material costs.

Steelmaking must become increasingly smart if it is to ride out the current storms to a more sustainable future2. EAFs coupled with electromagnetic stirring (EMS) – whereby an electromagnetic force stirs the entire steel melt, the direction, duration, and intensity of which are adjustable – is one way of making that change to a smarter future. In this article, we will look at innovations in electric steelmaking, specifically process improvements after installation of a leading-edge charging, melting and EMS solution guaranteed to transform a basic EAF into an ultra-productive piece of equipment. In fact, at Acciaieria Arvedi there is a record-breaking furnace that features a tapping size of 300 metric tons. Results have shown increases in arc heating efficiency, scrap melting rate and scrap yield as well as reduced electrical energy

*Global sales manager, ABB Metallurgy **Senior metallurgist, ABB October 2023

ABB.indd – read MM..indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:30:06

ELECTRIC STEELMAKING

consumption, power-on time and oxygen content in the steel.

In advance of the hydrogen transition, EAFs powered by renewable energy will bring steelmakers closer to their net zero goals. Photo credit: Adobe

ABB and Tenova partnered to deliver an innovative charging and melting solution for the world’s most productive EAF at Arvedi Italy

EAFs: characteristics, advantages and limitations Unlike traditional BF-BOF furnaces in integrated steel plants, which produce steel using virgin iron ore, more factories – greenfield facilities in particular – are increasingly looking at making steel using direct reduced iron (DRI) and/or hot briquetted iron (HBI) by a hydrogen reduction process and then melting them in an EAF. As we have mentioned, EAFs offer obvious sustainability advantages over blast furnace production, especially if low-carbon forms of electricity continue to become more widely available. An increase in the availability of scrap steel, as much as a billion metric tons by 20302 will support growth in EAF production. The recycling of steel is an ‘easy win’ for the circular economy in that it simultaneously reduces the overall CO2 footprint of steel production and the need for newly mined raw materials. In an EAF, the EMS hardware is installed under the furnace, but, importantly, not in contact with the melt, and creates a travelling electromagnetic field that Using non-contact electric stirring technology avoids breakthrough risk associated with bottom gas stirring

www.steeltimesint.com

ABB.indd – read MM..indd 2

October 2023

10/10/2023 14:30:11

ELECTRIC STEELMAKING

Technology can help bridge the productivity gap facing steelmakers moving from BF-BOF to more sustainable EAF steelmaking

penetrates the furnace, producing a magnetic force within the melt that produces the stirring effect. The contactless installation not only results in improved mass and heat transfer through the melt, it also avoids the risk of breakthrough and extensive maintenance3 that comes with employing gas purging plugs for bottom gas stirring (BGS). However, there are disadvantages to EAFs. There can be an asymmetry between the cold area of the furnace where the steel scraps are charged and the hot area. The inefficient melting of scrap and alloys in EAF processing reduces productivity, energy efficiency and yield, and can cause bottom skulls, a particular challenge for stainless and special steel producers that reduces furnace capacity4. Also, predicting final tapping conditions is challenging due to varying thermal and chemical conditions5. To address these issues, and others, ABB developed ArcSave® electromagnetic stirring technology, which creates a global stirring effect, without dead zones or cold spots, and much higher stirring power when used with an EAF, improving productivity and yield while lowering operating costs. ABB ArcSave®: efficiency, productivity, control, safety Before focusing in more depth on the collaborative project involving ABB, Tenova and Acciaieria Arvedi, let’s briefly look at one of the two key technologies involved, October 2023

ABB.indd – read MM..indd 3

the ArcSave EMS solution. ABB’s ArcSave enables safer, more consistent, and more efficient arc furnace operations. To take the latter first; when we talk about efficiency in the EAF process we primarily mean energy. The steel furnace process is extremely energy-intensive, meaning even a small saving equates to big absolute numbers in terms of reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions. During the Acciaieria Arvedi project, the application of EMS resulted in a 3.6% reduction in electrical energy consumption6. Efficiency also refers to raw materials, specifically the yield of the iron scrap used in the EAF to produce steel. Blast furnaces have an extremely high rate of productivity; to constitute a realistic alternative, EAF solutions must match, or even exceed, this output if steelmakers are to hit their sustainability goals while remaining cost competitive. During the Italy project, EMS increased productivity by 5%7. Another benefit of EMS systems in general, and ArcSave in particular, is improving process control in terms of the stability and repeatability of the process, and much more accurate furnace temperature readings and homogenisation; in other words, when you measure the temperature in one place in the EAF, you can be more confident that this is the same temperature over the entire bath. Finally, there is the issue of safety. In the

EAF context, this means the opening of the EBT (eccentric bottom tapping) to tap the steel, a potentially dangerous process if the hole cannot be opened properly due to unmelted frozen scrap. EMS reduces this risk by improving scrap melting and ensuring a high EBT-free opening ratio. Secondly, alternatives to EMS use inert gases like argon to stir the melt by purging them through porous plugs or holes in the bottom of the furnace, increasing the risk of a breakout of molten steel. EMS solutions remove the need for such holes as weak points. In summary, ABB ArcSave EMS offers efficient heat transfer from the arc to the melt; a higher melt rate, shorter tapto-tap time and lower energy use; and pushes the slag/metal reaction closer to equilibrium, increasing yield, and also efficiency, productivity and sustainability for manufacturers8. Case study: ABB, Tenova and Acciaieria Arvedi At steel manufacturer Acciaieria Arvedi’s site in Italy, ABB has partnered with technology provider Tenova to deliver a powerful solution that enables optimal charging and melting for the world’s highest-yielding EAF, which has a furnace tapping size of 300 metric tons. The package combines a Tenova Consteel® EAF continuous scrap charging system with a model of the ABB ArcSave www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:30:31

ELECTRIC STEELMAKING

The ABB-Tenova technology solution deployed at Arvedi enables continuous charging and more efficient melting of scrap. Photo credit: Adobe

EMS system designed specifically for continuous charging EAF systems, which Tenova often refers to as Consteerrer®. In Tenova’s Consteel EAF, the raw feed materials are pre-heated and charged continuously (avoiding the need for buckets or to open the furnace door or roof during the process) and melted by immersion in the liquid steel present in the furnace, while simultaneously controlling gaseous emissions9. The results are liquid steel with high productivity, a short and adjustable heat cycle and low power costs. The charge is loaded, from a scrap yard, onto the charge conveyor and pre-heated by process off-gas as it is continuously fed into the EAF. The furnace operates in constant flat bath conditions, a key advantage over other batch processes where scrap is melted by the direct action of the electric arc. The EAF gases are sent to a fume-cleaning plant in conditions suitable for complete combustion of carbon monoxide and other pollutants without any fuel usage. This particular EMS model was jointly developed by ABB and Tenova and is integrated into the bottom shell of the EAF. The EMS has delivered a range of process improvements at Acciaieria Arvedi. These include an 18°C lower tapping temperature and a 3.6% drop in electrical energy consumption, resulting in a 38,000-metric ton annual reduction in overall CO2 emissions at the plant. EAF productivity has www.steeltimesint.com

ABB.indd – read MM..indd 4

increased by 5% and final oxygen content in the EAF steel has decreased by 17%11. Other benefits include increased scrap yield, reduced electrode consumption, lowered refractory wearing and less carry-over slag. Processing is more stable and final tapping conditions more easily controlled. In summary, the ABB/Tenova solution provided to Acciaieria Arvedi has increased efficiency (higher yield, lower carryover slag, etc), reduced environmental impact (energy-efficient EAF), enhanced process control (no buckets, automated scrap quantity and quality tracking), and improved safety (less manpower and manual intervention in hazardous areas, etc)12. Forward thinking EAF-EMS brings multiple benefits to the process of EAF steelmaking enabling companies to maintain productivity while simultaneously reducing OPEX – EAF-EMS has been shown to offer much lower operating costs, in the range of 20% to 40%, than BGS – and tackle the challenge of sustainability. Lower energy consumption results in lower CO2 emissions, while less refractory materials, electrodes and additives also help to reduce the overall impact of the steel industry on the environment13. There is a consensus in the market about the increased need for EMS,

particularly considering that 43% of planned steelmaking capacity globally will rely on EAFs and that figure needs to rise to 53% by 2050 to achieve net zero steel production14. Steel manufacturers that recognise this trend and get ahead of the curve by investing meaningfully in EMS technologies, in partnership with a trusted technology provider, can not only look forward to a useful competitive advantage, but also a greatly reduced carbon footprint on the road to net zero. �

Sources: 1 https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa. eu/jrc-news/eu-climate-targets-howdecarbonise-steel-industry-2022-06-15_en 2,3,4,13 https://new.abb.com/metals/ abb-in-metals/references/electromagneticstirring-and-electric-arc-furnaces 5,8 YouTube video – ‘How does ArcSave optimize electric arc furnace operation? 6,7,11 https://new.abb.com/news/ detail/90023/abb-and-tenova-receivefinal-acceptance-for-innovative-chargingmelting-and-electromagnetic-stirringsolution-on-a-large-electric-arc-furnace-eaf 9 https://tenova.com/technologies/ consteelr-eaf 10,12 Slides: ‘ArcSave materials useful for CONAC 2023’ – Slide No. 5 14 https://e360.yale.edu/digest/steelindustry-carbon-coal-electric-arc-furnaces October 2023

10/10/2023 14:30:38

CONSTRUCTION

Neither up nor down While non-residential construction activity has remained stable due to increased public spending and a surge in manufacturing projects, analysts do not expect the tides to suddenly turn in its favour–given current market conditions. By Myra Pinkham* IN general, non-residential construction activity (both private and public works/ infrastructure construction activity) has been holding up fairly well thus far this year, albeit by varying degrees for different construction sectors, which is good news for suppliers of the steels used in such construction projects. “The market is shifting in some respects,” Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) noted. On the plus side, not only have certain supply chain issues that had limited building activity recently started to ease, but recently passed US legislation such as the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) bipartisan infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS & Science Act–all of which have provisions that incentivize the use of American-made steel and other construction materials–are starting to provide support for US nonresidential construction. “But while these bills will be positive for construction activity, I’m not sure it will be as much of a Kumbaya moment as everyone would like it to be,” said Philip Gibbs, a senior metals equity analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets, given challenges such

as high interest rates (therefore financing costs) and the tight labour market. According to the AGC’s August construction trends outlook report, non-residential construction spending from January to June (in current – not inflation-adjusted US dollars) was up 18% compared with spending in the first half of 2022. This corresponds with the US Census Bureau’s construction spending statistics and includes a 21% year on year increase in private non-residential construction spending and a 14% increase in public works, including a 20% year on year improvement in highway and street infrastructure construction over that time period. Given that this spending is not adjusted for inflation, it doesn’t necessarily equate to the actual construction activity, but it does reflect a demand for steel and other construction raw materials. However, Scott Hazelton, director of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s construction service, is predicting that going forward, while infrastructure construction activity will be going strong, building of structures (which not only includes private nonresidential buildings but also such public

works structures as education and healthcare structures) ‘are going nowhere in a hurry.’ Attributing a large part of the current and future strength of public non-residential spending to the IIJA and the IRA, Kevin Dempsey, president and chief executive officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), observed that several analysts expect that construction sector to continue to grow over the timeframe of those bills. For example, he pointed out that, according to construction industry consulting firm FMI, non-building construction spending is expected to grow 33% over the next five years, which, is consistent with a recent study by Moody’s Analytics, which indicates that investments from these bills, whether for infrastructure or private non-residential construction projects, will continue to grow for the next few years, peaking in 2026. This will benefit nearly every type of steel products associated with construction projects, including structural steel, plate, bars, tubular goods, wire rod and others. However, Dempsey pointed out that infrastructure projects will benefit from

*US correspondent, Steel Times International October 2023

Myra.indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:35:57

CONSTRUCTION

being insulated from any negative effects of rising interest rates. “That is because with infrastructure projects the funds don’t have to be borrowed. Rather they are appropriated by the government,” he explained. While we are starting to see a little push from the IIJA and IRA, Gibbs said it won’t be until next year, or perhaps 2025, that most of that impact will be felt. Hazelton pointed out that only $680 billion of the $2.1 trillion IIJA infrastructure bill will be truly net new spending with the remainder being moneys that were already going to be spent as part of its extension of the existing FAST Act highway bill. He noted that the American Society of Civil Engineers, whose latest report card (released in 2021) gave the state of America’s infrastructure an overall grade of a C-, has indicated that there is a need to spend about $4.5 trillion to get the state of US infrastructure up to where it should be. “There is no question that the condition of roads and bridges need to be addressed,” Gibbs said, noting that the Biden administration has stated that need and has even addressed that with some additional funds in a side bill. “But there continues to be constraints beyond adequate capital,” he said, explaining that while there aren’t any issues getting materials needed for such projects, one question is how to get enough construction workers in this tight labour market to do the work. www.steeltimesint.com

Myra.indd 2

Meanwhile, while he said overall nonresidential buildings spending has been ‘surprisingly strong’ during the first half of this year, Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) said that project design activity has been weak, which calls into question how strong private non-residential construction activity will be going forward. Baker noted that AIA’s Architecture Billings Index has been soft since late last year, but, unlike during past downturns when architects’ billings fell dramatically, they really didn’t move very much, hovering between the high 40s and very low 50s (with 50 points generally seen as being the cusp of contractionary and expansionary business conditions.) Meanwhile, private US non-residential construction activity – while holding up better than many have predicted – is likely to continue to be mixed, with some sectors clearly doing much better than others. Even with the rising interest rates and all the talk about slowing economic growth,

the potential for a recession, and the tight labour market, some construction sectors have been described as ‘off the charts.’ The hottest sector over the past year has been the construction of manufacturing plants, AGC’s Simonson said, observing that spending on manufacturing projects was up 80% year over year as of June. Alex Carrick, chief economist for ConstructConnect, said that in current dollars, construction starts for manufacturing projects are currently three times higher than historical levels. He attributed that to a surprisingly high number of mega projects, including new battery and auto plants driven by the transition to electric vehicles and several giant semiconductor chip-making plants. While the push to build new semiconductor fabrication facilities was, at least in part helped by the recently passed CHIPS & Science Act, Simonson said such construction was already increasing due to the chip shortages during the Covid pandemic and the desire to shorten the supply chain to make it more secure and October 2023

10/10/2023 14:36:12

Since 1866

Steel Times International is a leading publication serving the global steel industry and oﬀering its readers a strong focus on all aspects of the production process embracing both basic oxygen and electric steelmaking.

Choose your subscription package... PRINT + DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION  8 print copies and a printed copy of the Steel Times International Directory  Digital copy of the magazine delivered to your inbox every month  Access to our digital archive of past issues and webinars  Weekly Steel Times International newsletter  PLUS access to all digital issues of Furnaces International

DIGITAL ONLY SUBSCRIPTION With a digital subscription you will receive all the beneﬁts of the Print + Digital option, excluding print copies!

WWW.STEELTIMESINT.COM

STI-Subs-1p-Ad-Print.indd 1

20/09/2023 11:51

CONSTRUCTION

less reliant upon getting chips from China and elsewhere in Asia. “But while there will be a big surge in the building of new manufacturing plants – possibly a 179% increase this year and an additional 10% growth next year – once these facilities are built, we won’t need to build many more of them,” Hazelton said, anticipating that by 2025 or 2026 the construction rate will start to fall off. Hazelton said that another growth sector is lodging construction, which, while still not back to pre-pandemic levels, is in recovery mode–with construction activity up about 16% this year after seeing 5% growth in 2022. He said that now that people are traveling again it will likely grow by another 14% next year. Also, Simonson said that power-related construction – both for traditional and renewable power sources, such as wind and solar and for battery charging stations for electric vehicles – is on the rise, rising about 8% year on year as of June. While it is hard to say exactly how much, it is widely believed that construction of data centres is quite strong – potentially one of the strongest growing construction sectors. This is because the Census Bureau includes data centres in their office statistics, which also makes it difficult to determine how much of the expected 2% increase in office construction spending this year is actually for data centres as opposed to office buildings and whether construction of office buildings is actually declining. “No one is building office buildings given their high vacancy rates, and many people still working from home,” ConstructConnect’s Carrick maintained. “But construction of data centres for companies like Google are still going ahead.” Simonson said that he believes that new office construction will be very subdued over the next year or so, observing that even now, the activity is being dominated by remodelling and repurposing older office buildings which are then used for hotel or multifamily housing applications. At the same time, he said that he hasn’t seen any signs of a big enough get-back-to-the-office move by most corporations to warrant much new office construction. One notable area of softening has been warehouse construction spending, which, after growing by a double digit rate in 2021 and 2022, was only up about 3% www.steeltimesint.com

Myra.indd 3

in current dollars (and was actually down about 3% in real dollars). Simonson said that he believes that this sector will soften further going forward given that current spending levels are being propped up by projects that were started before big cutbacks were announced by Amazon and certain other companies, so there will be fewer new projects once the current ones are completed. “This isn’t necessarily a sign of weakness,” John Anton, director of S&P Global Market Intelligence’s steel service, maintained, but rather an indication that companies have already built enough warehouse space to meet their needs, explaining, “Once you build enough of something you don’t need to build more.

Hazelton said that another factor is the recent transformation in the way warehouses are being built. “They are becoming increasingly automated, which enables them to place their racks closer together and to accommodate more goods with the same, or smaller, footprint. This comes as while retail sales have held up better than had been expected but given that a good portion of those sales have not been brick and mortar store sales, including those via the Internet, auction houses and mail orders, Simonson said that demand for retail-related construction will be very selective and generally weak. Despite the rising interest rates and the fact that there haven’t been any signs

that construction-related labour issues are easing, fewer non-residential construction projects have been delayed or cancelled than many had anticipated. And, Carrick said, those that have been impacted have mainly been smaller projects by smaller companies, given that larger companies have been able to negotiate more attractive financing rates. Meanwhile, according to Baker, it is anticipated that certain projects that had been delayed could soon be restarted now given the widespread belief that inflation rates will continue to decline. Anton said that it has been a good year for the steels used for non-residential construction, with the steel mills doing a very good job controlling production to keep prices strong. This, he noted, comes at a time when those steels aren’t in surplus, especially given a general reluctance for companies to use imported steel – even for projects that don’t fall under recently passed Buy America provisions. AISI’s Dempsey pointed out that total US steelmaking capacity utilization is currently running at 76%, which leaves significant room for it to grow, while at the same time many steelmakers are investing to add additional capacity. That includes investments in constructionrelated steels. For example, Gibbs pointed out that Nucor has started its new greenfield mill in Brandenburg, KY, which, once fully ramped up, will increase domestic plate supply by about 10%. Meanwhile, Anton observed that even though there currently isn’t a shortage of long product capacity, several new rebar micro-mills are being built to bring steel closer to certain currently underserved markets, including those in Florida and the West Coast. Overall, non-residential construction, like the US economy, has been holding up better than many had anticipated, Carrick said, maintaining that while there could be some slowing of non-residential activity over the short term, it will pick up again. Also, given the resilience in infrastructure and other public works construction activity, any decline might not be quite as severe. “But it is unknown if it will be enough to overcome the slowdown in private nonresidential construction spending,” Gibbs said. “Overall non-residential construction will be pretty flat going forward, with several more steel-intensive sectors being stronger than certain others,” Hazelton said. � October 2023

10/10/2023 14:36:21

Since 1866

CONNECTING THE

INTERNATIONAL STEEL INDUSTRY

Magazine

Newsletter

Steel Times International is the key publication for the steel market, reporting on iron and steel making issues from all corners of the globe.

A round-up of the top news stories is sent to more than 7,000 industry professionals each week. You can register online to receive the weekly newsletter and keep up-to-date with the latest news from across the steel manufacturing industry. www.steeltimesint.com/e-newsletter

Directory The Steel Times International Directory is the essential guide to steel manufacturers, producers, suppliers of plant equipment and services to the steel industry. Order your print or digital copy priced from £105 or FREE for paid subscribers.

Online Events Steel Times hosts regular webinars and virtual events. Head to www.steeltimesint.com to see what’s coming up.

Website PUBLISHED BY

Packed with information on the steel industry and continually updated with news for steel professionals, www.steeltimesint.com also features special articles and interviews with leading industry figures.

BUSINESS MEDIA LTD

F I N D O U T M O R E AT S T E E LT I M E S I N T. CO M Join the Steel Times International Group

STI-June23-PortfolioAd-1p-A4.indd 1

@SteelTimesInt

10/07/2023 14:06

PROCESS CONTROL

Improved heat treatment of rail wheels PLC digital control of heat treatment furnaces at SAIL’s Durgapur Wheel and Axle Plant have reduced the number of wheel rejects due to non-uniformity of rim hardness by 25% as well as achieving optimum fuel consumption in the furnace. By S Mitra*, P A Aneesh*, A Sharan*, D Raj*, S K Behera** & J Sarkar** DURGAPUR Steel Plant is one of the integrated steel mills of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL). The Wheel and Axle Plant (WAP) produces wheels and axles for Indian Railways and is a specialist unit within the works. WAP manufactures forged and machined railway wheels for locomotives, coaches and wagons. Wheels are produced by pressing and rolling wheel blanks, while axles are produced by forging axle blooms. Once formed, both products are heat treated and machined. For ease of production, the wheel manufacturing section and the axle manufacturing sections are located in separate bays. Quality tested wheel and axles finally meet in the assembly section. For wheel manufacture, specially-cast ingots and continuously cast rounds of special grade steel are received from the steel melting shop. The ingots are dressed and continuous cast rounds are then cut

Fig 1. Wheel rolling in a multiple roller stand

into smaller cylindrical pieces called ‘block /cheese’ using a band and a circular saw. These blocks are then heated in a rotary hearth furnace (A-furnace) for six to seven hours. The heated blocks are de-scaled and fed to forging and punching presses. It is in the wheel forging area where a wheel takes its primary shape from the block. The block is forged to the shape of a wheel and a hole punched through the centre. The forged wheel blanks are treated in a batch type reheating furnace (B-furnace) followed by rolling in a stand with multiple rollers to give the wheels the required profile and approximate dimension. Fig 1 depicts the rolling of wheels. Following rolling, the wheels pass to a dishing press, where the web profile is achieved. The wheel then progresses to a marking press, where an ID number, year of manufacture and batch number are stamped on the front rim face for traceability.

*R&D Centre for Iron & Steel, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Ranchi , India **Durgapur Steel Plant, Durgapur, India www.steeltimesint.com

SAIL improve digital control – railway – read MM..indd 1

October 2023

12/10/2023 07:32:21

PROCESS CONTROL

Fig 2. Rotary hearth heat treatment furnace

Fig 3. Final wheel stack ready for dispatch

Fig 4. Typical furnace thermal regime for C1 and C4

The wheels are next heat treated in one of four rotary hearth heat treatment furnaces (C1, C2, C3 and C4). Each furnace is independently controlled and uses coke oven gas as fuel. Plant logistics dictate that the end two furnaces (C1 & C4) are used for rim spraying/hardening and the middle two furnaces (C2 & C3) are used for hardening as well as tempering. Fig 2 shows heat treatment furnace C4. The furnaces are loaded by charging cars, each carrying a pair of wheels, charging one wheel at a time in any of two furnaces, depending on availability. Here they are brought to temperature and held for a soaking time to achieve uniform temperature. When the required uniform temperature is reached, the wheels are discharged and placed on a rim spraying machine where the rim is quenched with a spray of cold water for a specified time. The quenched wheels are then re-heated in one of two tempering furnaces (C2 & C3) to transform the hardened microstructure and relieve stress. The tempered wheels are then removed from the furnace and cooled in air before being taken to a stacking space as ‘black’ wheels. Each wheel is then machined to dimensions on the rim face, boss face, rim blending, condemning glove and chucking October 2023

SAIL improve digital control – railway – read MM..indd 2

glove by means of CNC/VTL machines. Finally, wheels are tested by Indian Railway’s own quality checking agency (RITES) before dispatch (Fig 3). Precision heating for hardening To achieve the final dimensions of the wheel, steel stocks are subjected to repeated mechanical deformations; forging, rolling and dishing as well as repeated heating/cooling in ‘A‘ and ‘B‘ furnaces. This deteriorates the key mechanical properties of the wheels and needs rectifying by further heat treatment by quenching and tempering to produce a harder rim and a tougher core. This must prevent high internal stress after cooling the wheel to prevent warping. Hence, precision temperature control in the heat treatment furnaces (C1, C2, C3 and C4) is crucial to achieve the desired mechanical properties. The heating control of the two furnaces used for rim spraying/hardening (C1 and C4) are most important, as the correct temperature is necessary to achieve uniform hardening of the rim around the complete circumference. Failure to achieve this is one of the prime factors for wheel rejection. In view of this, an improved digital control system has been implemented in furnaces C1 and C4 for precision furnace heating.

Adherence to the correct temperature inside furnaces, at this stage, is extremely crucial in achieving the desired and uniform mechanical properties. These furnaces have two temperature zones: the heating zone and the soaking zone. The temperatures of each zone need to be maintained close to 920°C and 880°C respectively, so that a final wheel temperature of 780 – 840°C is achieved. The desired set temperatures and final wheel temperature are dependent on the type of wheel being heated, whether for a locomotive or a coach. The retention time inside the furnace also depends on the type of wheel. A plot of a typical thermal regime to be maintained inside these furnaces is illustrated in Fig 4. The precision required of the temperature control cannot be achieved merely by individual control of gas and air flow. Rather a more complex, cascade control concept of the gas-air ratio with a lead–lag control feature is required. This control is achieved by using programmed heating, wherein three dedicated PID controllers set each zone temperature. The dedicated controllers are i) temperature controller, ii) gas flow controller and iii) air flow controller. The operator inputs the desired temperature set point and air/gas ratio. Depending on the difference between the set point (SP) and actual temperature measurement from thermocouples, ie the temperature process value (PV), the controller decides the percentage of opening of the respective gas and air valves. The system output regulates the opening/ closing of these valves using pneumatic actuators. The controllers are auto adjustable to cater for the requirements of the set air/gas ratio and lead/lag time to achieve optimum gas use. Hence, heating with precision control and optimum consumption of coke oven gas, which is a www.steeltimesint.com

12/10/2023 07:32:24

PROCESS CONTROL

scarce energy source, is achieved using this control philosophy. Automation system The new control system installed on the C1 and C4 furnaces is capable of achieving automatic temperature control of heating and soaking zones with cascaded air – gas ratio control. It facilitates control of the air and gas flow in each zone of the furnace through a cascaded air/gas ratio. In addition, the control system controls and monitors furnace pressure and combustion air pressure as well as furnace pressure, inlet air and gas pressure and other related process parameters. Field devices such as orifices, control valves and actuators have been introduced. Process parameters monitored include temperature, pressure, air/gas flow rates etc. Thermocouples, transmit temperature values and pressure transmitters and differential pressure transmitters are employed. A PLC system capable of handling all functionalities of C1 and C4 furnaces including the various safety circuits of the furnaces is installed. To ensure uninterrupted plant operation, the PLC system selected has high availability, fault tolerant and dual redundant configuration for the processor, power supply, communication and networking. Field instrumentation is connected with the system through various analogue and digital input/output cards. Process inputs/ outputs are linked with processors through redundant deterministic networks. The architecture of the automation system is depicted in Fig 5.

Fig 6. A typical HMI screen for furnace temperature control

www.steeltimesint.com

SAIL improve digital control – railway – read MM..indd 3

Fig 5. Architecture of automation system for furnace control

A user friendly Human Machine Interface (HMI) enables plant operators to effectively monitor and control furnace heating. It also provides the operator with informative graphics, historical trends, alarms and so forth. HMI has been implemented in two identical industrial grade PCs connected to PLCs through dual Ethernet. The basic objective of the HMI is to facilitate operator control of the temperature of C1 and C4 furnaces. The HMI also depicts a Graphical Users Interface (GUI) screen for monitoring various furnace parameters, providing real-time values of all furnace parameters displayed at a glance to the operators.

Fig 6 depicts a typical furnace heating control screen. Outcome The heating of C1 and C4 furnaces is now controlled through a new PLC and instrumentation system. A centralised PLC based control system for various parameters in C1 and C4 furnaces has significantly improved process control efficiency. All the important process parameters, such as zone temperature, fuel gas and air flow, gas and air pressures and furnace pressure, are now visible through a single window. Moreover, cascade control of the furnace zone temperatures has eliminated manual intervention of the operator for these controls, thereby increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of temperature. The PLC-based digital control has achieved an accuracy in set temperature of ±(5 to 10) degrees centigrade. Such accuracy in temperature control is crucial in attaining uniform mechanical properties of wheel hardness around the periphery. Any variation in hardness in the periphery of a wheel results in rejection. Uniform heating of each wheel and subsequent cooling produces the desired microstructure of predominately fine pearlite with finely dispersed ferrite and facilitates the formation of a fine grain size (ASTM 6-7) in wheel steel. Thus PLC digital temperature control is now playing a vital role in achieving the desired physical properties of wheels resulting in a significant reduction of rejects of around 25%. � October 2023

12/10/2023 07:32:27

PERSPECTIVES Q&A: Plug Power

Plugged into green steel Green hydrogen is critical to decarbonization, says Sanjay Shrestha*, with Plug Power’s offerings across the green hydrogen value chain driving the steel industry’s transformation from a heavy emitter to a sustainable sector. 1. How are things going at Plug Power? Is the steel industry keeping you busy? Plug has been building the hydrogen ecosystem for more than 25 years. We believe that green hydrogen is critical to decarbonization. Only green hydrogen – using renewable energy to split the water molecule and generate hydrogen – will allow businesses to fully decarbonize energy production, transportation, and industrial applications. Plug is currently building a network of hydrogen plants in North America and is on track to produce 500 tons of green hydrogen per day by 2025. This will replace 4.3Mt of carbon dioxide emissions. We expect to build a similar hydrogen plant footprint in Europe by 2030. One example in Europe is our plan to build a green hydrogen facility at the Port of Antwerp Bruges. Other plants are in the works with our Spain-based partner, Acciona. We also recently announced projects in Finland, focused on green steel, green ammonia, and mobility.

emissions. As for areas Plug is pursuing in the industry, we believe green hydrogen can reduce emissions in the production of steel in the blast furnace and in the making of direct reduced iron (DRI). There is also potential in high temperature forming processes which steel undergoes before leaving the factory.

Sanjay Shrestha 2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry? The demand for steel continues to grow as economies grow and build their infrastructure. The challenge for the industry is to reduce emissions while continuing to meet the growing demand. The steel industry produces 7-9% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions and is a significant contributor of SOx, NOx, and particulate matter. Steel is also the largest industrial consumer of coal. The good news is that industry players across the globe acknowledge the problem and are exploring various decarbonization pathways. 3. In which sector of the steel industry does Plug Power mostly conduct its business? Green hydrogen presents a real opportunity for the steelmaking industry to reduce

4. Where in the world are you busiest at present? Plug is active in Europe, the US, and Australia. We are continuing to look for new opportunities in markets across the globe and are looking forward to expanding our network. 5. Can you discuss any major steel contracts you are currently working on? Plug was recently selected to supply electrolyzers by a steel manufacturer for a pilot project in Europe. In May 2023, Plug announced a similar pilot project in Bremen, Germany alongside its partner APEX Group to supply two 5 MW electrolyzer modules. The green

hydrogen generated through electrolysis will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of producing green steel through the decarbonization of ArcelorMittal’s local blast furnaces. Plug is also a founding member of GravitHy, a green iron and steel industrial consortium working to address growing demand for green iron and steel primarily in Europe. The consortium is focused on generating and using green and low-carbon hydrogen to produce DRI. Plug is exploring collaboration opportunities with steel players across the world, namely in the US, Europe, and Australia. 6. What are your views on Industry 4.0 and steelmaking? Industry 4.0 is changing the game for the steel industry. It’s taking the old ways of making steel and giving them a total makeover into high-tech, connected systems. With technologies like IoT, automation, data analytics, and AI coming into play, steel mills are seeing some serious improvements in how they work. It’s all about getting things done more efficiently, predicting when maintenance is needed, and keeping a close eye on quality and adjusting in real-time. This shift is like a power-up for the industry, letting it quickly adapt to what customers want, making better use of resources, and getting super customized. It’s also a win for the environment and safety too. Industry 4.0 isn’t just bringing steelmaking into the 21st century, it’s setting the stage for more growth, fresh ideas, and staying globally competitive. 7. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like Plug Power to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? If so, what can you offer them?

*Chief strategy officer, Plug Power October 2023

perspectives – read MM..indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

10/10/2023 14:39:44

PERSPECTIVES Q&A: Plug Power

We are witnessing a shift in the industry prompted by growing demand for green steel and new government incentives and mandates. Plug brings extensive knowledge in hydrogen and end-to-end ecosystem expertise that steel making companies need. Plug’s offerings across the green hydrogen value chain have resulted in technology collaboration and pilot projects that will enable the required technology integration. Our goal is to make hydrogen easy for the industry so they can focus on deploying hydrogen solutions at scale. 8. 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 industry has taken on the challenge to move towards environmentally friendly steel making. Because steel is part of our daily life, ‘greening’ steel would green so many aspects of our life. The pace of change is driven by – and will depend on – many factors, but the industry is developing solutions right now. 9. Where does Plug Power lead the field in terms of sustainable technology? Plug is a customer-focused company. We place customers and their sustainability needs at the core of our operations. Having great customers such as Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, and Phillips 66 has given us the experience and insights needed for building the largest pureplay green hydrogen company. To date, we have delivered 60,000 fuel cells that have operated for more than one billion hours, constructed 200 fuelling stations,

www.steeltimesint.com

perspectives – read MM..indd 2

and expanded our supply chain and manufacturing capabilities while offering industry-leading service support. And this is just the beginning of our journey. 10. How do you view Plug Power’s development over the short-tomedium term in relation to the global steel industry? Our aim is to collaborate with all significant players in the steel industry. As previously mentioned, our expertise spans the entire spectrum of hydrogen, including the construction of hydrogen plants that will incorporate Plug electrolyzers for our own hydrogen network. With this holistic approach, we’re partnering with technology providers in the industry to establish an integrated solution. We are confident that this strategy will expedite the incorporation of hydrogen into steel production processes. 11. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like Plug Power to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? If so, what can you offer them? Hydrogen offers a pathway to achieving substantial carbon reductions in steelmaking. In the short-term, it can help partially reduce carbon emissions in the blast furnaces for a more decarbonized steel production process. Additionally, hydrogen can function as a primary reducing agent in the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) process. The hydrogen-based DRI route coupled with access to low-cost renewable electricity as viable in several regions, provides a path for almost emissions-free steel production. High temperature forming processes will

also benefit from hydrogen. 12. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward and what challenges face global producers in the short-to-medium term? The world cannot move forward without the steel industry. There will be challenges – legislation, policies, and new frameworks – but global producers must adopt emissions reduction strategies and set high benchmarks without hesitation. There’s value in the industry taking the lead, setting targets, and recruiting government support in contrast to waiting for governments to impose targets. 13. What exhibitions and conferences will Plug Power be attending? We consistently attend conferences that our customers go to. You can find us at the major steel conferences and events, including the upcoming EMEA Green Steel Summit in Frankfurt. 14. Plug Power is headquartered in the US; what’s happening steel-wise in the country? We see opportunities for being the green hydrogen supplier to the steel industry in the US. We hope to see the steel industry taking the lead in the selected hydrogen hubs and play a pivotal role as demand centres. 15. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry? I would accelerate time. We would all like to see a faster transition to low carbon technologies in steel, and any sector that can tap into cleaner energy solutions. �

October 2023

10/10/2023 14:40:00

HISTORY

Cort and the black metallurgists. Part 2– Whose technology? In the second part of the feature, Tim Smith* contests the arguments that assert Henry Cort’s theft of the puddling process. SEVERAL recent news articles have jumped on the assertation, without challenge, that Henry Cort, who history recognizes as the inventor of the puddling process to produce wrought iron, ‘stole’ the process from enslaved Africans working at a foundry in Jamaica. The article Black metallurgists and the making of the industrial revolution by Dr Jenny Bulstrode of the Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London, is available to download at https://doi.org/10.1080/07341512.2023.2 220991 The September issue of Steel Times International’s ‘History’ page describes the setting up of this foundry in Jamaica by an English coppersmith, John Reeder, and presents Dr Bulstrode’s argument that puddling of iron was practiced there and that Henry Cort patented his process based on practices at the Jamaican foundry following its dismantling and the shipment of the equipment to Portsmouth where Henry had a contract with the Admiralty to recover scrap metal. This article tests those arguments. Two key elements are the basis of Cort’s puddling process, the use of an air draught reverberatory furnace and the application of grooved rolls to produce bar, rather than forging this by hammer. Cort’s patent No. 1420 of 1784 states ‘For the preparing, manufacturing, and working of iron from the ore, as well as from sow and pig metal, and also from every other sort of cast iron (together with or without scull and cinder iron and wrought-iron straps), I make use of a reverberatory furnace or air furnace …’ A previous patent, (No. 1351), granted to Cort a year earlier in 1783, was for rolling refined iron blooms in a mill with grooved rolls, later known as ‘puddling rolls’. The

Side and plan view of a natural draught puddling furnace. The ﬁre is set to the left and the heat drawn across the charge in the right-hand chamber by the draught of the chimney

patent describes how the bloom, resulting from the preliminary forging by hammer of the refined metal from the puddling furnace, could be rolled to bar rather than using the more laborious and skilled method of the time of drawing the metal out to bar under the hammer. In Jamaica, Reeder converted scrap metal to bar by bundling it together, heating to white heat, and rolling in a mill with grooved rolls. This is not the process of puddling described by Cort, which was essentially to refine the high carbon pig iron coming from the blast furnace. Could Reeder be refining pig iron? A reference to smelting iron from ore suggests a blast furnace was possibly

built, a technology familiar in Europe but unknown in sub-Saharan Africa at that time. Reeder undertook casting guns, and a blast furnace could supply the required molten metal, but, if so, there would be no need to refine it to a more ductile wrought iron. Blast furnace iron can be diluted with low carbon scrap to lower the carbon content, something practiced by John Wilkinson in England at that time, and evidently scrap iron was readily available in Jamaica without the need to produce wrought iron for this purpose. Some cast iron may have reached the foundry from ship’s ballast – known as ‘Voyage’ iron, which was a common practice to bring a saleable commodity on the out-bound journey and replace this with a valuable cargo, such as sugar and spices, on the home-bound trip. Could such iron have been refined by Reeder? Possibly, but, if so, all the equipment necessary to do so was already known and available in Britain. In addition, Cort’s method only worked well on pig iron from charcoal-fired furnaces. Considerable later development by ironmasters was needed to apply the process to iron from coke-fired furnaces because of the higher sulphur content of the iron. Ship’s ballast would likely be iron from coke furnaces because of its lower cost. The reverberatory furnace was known well before the time of Cort. In 1708, a reverberatory furnace was used to smelt lead in Flintshire, Wales(1). Later, in 1761, John Wood used a reverberatory furnace in his ‘potting’ process for refining pig iron(1). Hence, this was not a new technology established in Jamaica. Onions, also developed a ‘puddling’ process using a forced draught reverberatory furnace which he patented

*Consulting editor, Steel Times International October 2023

History.indd 1

www.steeltimesint.com

11/10/2023 15:07:04

HISTORY

in 1783(1), the year before Cort’s second patent specifying the use of a natural draught reverberatory furnace to puddle iron. The reverberatory action ‘bounces’ the heat from the burning fuel off the furnace roof causing it to be reflected to the charge located in an adjacent chamber so isolating the fuel from the charge. This enabled coal to be used as fuel, with any sulphur present being oxidized and extracted up the flue preventing it from contaminating a charge of iron which would render it hot-short. This contrasted with the need to use more expensive charcoal in the long-established finery process in which the iron and fuel were in contact. The second element of the process, the rolling mill with grooved rolls, was patented in 1766 by J Purnell(1) (patent No. 854 1766) who used it to make ships’ bolts and would likely be known to Cort who had contracts with the Navy. Mills for slitting bar were known even earlier than this dating from the early 17th century and normally incorporated smooth rolls to roll flat bar

Grooved rolls for rod rolling designed by J Purnell in 1766 (Patent No 854)

which was then slit into narrow pieces for such applications as nail production. Grooved rolls were also used to crush sugar cane, which may have prompted Reeder to modify these to roll bar, but equally, due to his background as a coppersmith in England, or the knowledge of the artisans he brought from there, made him likely to be aware of their established use in rolling bar.

In 1782, Cort was seeking additional finance to expand his work and was advanced the sum of £27k by Adam Jellicoe, deputy paymaster of the Navy. Security for Jellicoe’s loan was the rights to Cort’s patents and the establishment of a partnership between Jellicoe’s son, Samuel, and Cort. Cort, it appears, was unaware that the loan from Jellicoe senior had been acquired from Naval funds, not his private finances. When Jellicoe died in 1789, this was revealed and the Navy Board seized the property, works and trade effects of the firm Cort & Jellicoe at Fontley and Gosport. Physical assets were valued £17k, but the patents valued at just £100 and were confiscated, yet unpaid royalties from licensees of the patent would have paid the full debt of the money taken by Jellicoe senior, at least six times over.(2) John Percy in his book Metallurgy Vol 2 of 1864, devotes 62 pages to the Cort puddling process, arguing that Cort – who died in poverty, had been tricked out of his patents by Jellicoe and his son, Samuel with the connivence of the British Government. �

Footnotes: 1 ‘A history of Metallurgy’ by R F Tylecote, The Metals Society 1976 p111. 2 ‘Metallurgy’ Vol 2 by John Percy 1864 p631

CONNECTING THE INTERNATIONAL STEEL INDUSTRY

Steel Times International Directory

FROM JUST

£105

Since 1866

www.steeltimesint.com

The Directory is the essential guide to steel manufacturers, producers, suppliers of plant equipment and services to the steel industry. It provides comprehensive listings, product information and key contact details.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADVERTISING OR HOW TO BE LISTED CONTACT: ESME HORN esmehorn@quartzltd.com | +44 (0) 1737 855 136

WWW.STEELTIMESINT.COM

www.steeltimesint.com

STI_Directory_HalfPageAd_PRINT.indd 1

History.indd 2

DIRECTORY 2023 @SteelTimesInt

STI BUYERS GUIDE.indd 1

18/09/2023 12:40:58

October 2023

11/10/2023 12:05

11/10/2023 15:07:09

Other developments & technologies aiming at decarbonizing the steel industry: VolteronTM: CO2-free Steel Production Process Furnace Electrification Carbon Capture Heat Recovery

JVD (Jet Vapor Deposition) Line

Towards green steel Technologies turning steelmakers’ decarbonization goals into reality. Eco-friendly Acid Regeneration Plants

Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD): Sustainable, highquality and cost-effective steel coating The JVD line introduces a technological breakthrough in the steel coating of advanced high resistant steel grades difficult to galvanize by hot dipping. This genuine alternative to Electro-Galvanizing and Hot-Dip-Galvanizing considerably reduces the cost of galvanized steel and provides multiple advantages when it comes to quality, speed and OPEX. Developed for ArcelorMittal with the help of our experts, John Cockerill is in charge of commercializing this unique technology worldwide.

High-performance Acid Regeneration supporting responsible steel making and the circular economy John Cockerill Industry’s ARPs come with smart plant control systems, provide waste energy recovery and drastically reduce pickling process plants’ fresh acid demands and waste streams in general. What is more, they are providing the lowest emissions in the market.

Electrical Steel Processing Technologies to produce the steel grades of tomorrow Our E-SiTM equipment and processing lines are designed for the production of strong, ultrathin, lightweight, and highquality Non-Grain Oriented (NGO) steel grades essential for the future of e-mobility.

johncockerill.com/industry STI--JohnCockerillIndustry.indd 1

Electrical Steel Processing Technologies

04/07/2023 14:53:32