Liberty Steel Ostrava to install hybrid EAFs in Czech Republic in green steel push

Liberty Steel Group, part of the GFG Alliance grouping, said July 8 that it has signed a contract with global plant manufacturer Danieli for delivery of two hybrid electric arc furnaces (EAFs) to the integrated Liberty Ostrava steel mill in the Czech Republic as part of the mill's green steel drive.

The new furnaces will have a combined production capacity of 3.5 million mt/year and will reduce overall CO2 emissions of the Ostrava steelworks by more than 80% by 2027, Liberty Steel Group said in a statement.

The EAFs are expected to be operational in 2025 and be able to melt 100% scrap in 2027 following the planned installation of a 400 kV electricity line into the Ostrava steelworks.

The EAFs will replace Ostrava's four tandem furnaces, not its blast furnaces, a GFG Alliance spokesperson said. Liberty Ostrava's steel production capacity is currently at about 3.6 million mt/year.

In 2021 Liberty Ostrava, the Czech Republic's largest steelworks, produced 2.28 million mt of liquid steel, up 33% on the previous year, its highest output since 2016, according to an April 25 company statement. Output from the plant's two blast furnaces was put at 1.93 million mt, up 35% on 2020.

The spokesperson declined to give a production forecast for 2022.

2030 carbon neutral aim

The CZK 8.6 billion (Eur350 million) investment in the new furnaces is seen as a significant step forward in Liberty Ostrava's plan to become carbon neutral by 2030. "This is the largest investment in Ostrava for a generation and the start of a major transformation across Europe as we move away from older polluting production methods to the latest lower carbon production technologies," Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty Steel Group, was cited as saying during a signing ceremony for the furnaces.

The two hybrid EAFs -- each with nominal capacity of 200 mt -- use Danieli's QONE power electronics technology. This is said to allow the furnaces' flexibility in the charge mix, ranging from large quantities of hot metal and direct reduced or hot-briquetted iron to up to 100% scrap in the second phase of the project. The plant will thus reduce its reliance on imported coal and iron ore, providing production flexibility, according to the statement.

European green steel target

Liberty Steel Group said it has also launched a tender process for similar hybrid electric arc furnaces for Ostrava's sister plant Liberty Galati, Romania, as the group targets 10 million mt green steel capacity in Europe over the next five years.

The group has eight steelworks and five service centers across continental Europe, with a combined liquid steel production capacity of over 7.5 million mt/year, and an annual rolling capacity of over 10.5 million mt/year.

Liberty Ostrava also signed July 8 a declaration of cooperation with ČEZ ESCO, part of major European energy group ČEZ.

"This partnership will identify and develop the renewable energy and hydrogen technologies required for Ostrava's GREENSTEEL transformation," the Liberty Steel Group statement said.

Downstream products

Liberty Ostrava produces both flat and long steel products and tubes for the construction, machinery and oil and gas sectors. In 2021 its total downstream production, at 2.16 million mt, was up 29% on the previous year, including 680,000 mt of flat steel, up 84%, and 1.48 million mt of rolled long products, up 19%.

Seamless pipe production of 136,000 mt in 2021 gave Liberty Ostrava more than 5% of the European seamless pipe market, its highest since 2016.

Liberty Ostrava has also announced it is to undertake extensive modernization of its rolling mills, including its hot strip Steckel mill, to enable production of higher added value products, according to the group's statement. Investments will also be made in the creation of renewable power plants for electricity production, it said.

The steelworks started a tender process for these improvements in November 2020 and has evaluated offers from a number of global technology providers, the July 8 statement said.

Platts assessed hot-rolled coil in Northern Europe at Eur850/mt ex-works Ruhr on July 7, unchanged on the day, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights.

HRC prices have reached a floor in the EU, market sources said. The downwards price trend in Europe since late March is seen to have come to an end due to a change of approach by domestic mills that stopped giving discounts to stimulate buying and instead started to reduce production to balance supply and demand.

Steel demand from end-consumers is expected to remain below usual levels, market sources said. Steel demand from the automotive industry has been below usual, with continuing component shortages limiting production.