TPT November 2024

ARTICLE

Swiss Steel Group

One more thing about the flexibility of the electric arc furnace route. Its great advantage is that the furnace can be switched off. A blast furnace has to run 24/7. This means you can react to fluctuating demand and energy situations and adjust production. This also applies to surpluses in the grid. The EAF route can also relieve the grid of peaks by using its furnaces in a targeted manner. A point that is worth being seen and evaluated much more clearly by the public. Scrap is a valuable raw material Scrap is the basis of the electric arc furnace route and is therefore a very important and valuable raw material. Steel is not consumed, but is used again and again. The circular economy leads to greater resource efficiency. The question therefore arises as to whether a region such as Europe should not build up scrap reserves in the same way as we do with other systemically important raw materials. This would also be a response to the increasing demand for scrap in Europe and on the global market and could contribute to greater price stability. However, scrap also offers another major opportunity to reduce the CO 2 footprint in the production of high-alloy and stainless steels. We are increasingly moving away from pure primary alloys such as ferronickel, ferromanganese or ferromolybdenum in favour of high-alloy scrap from the outset. In the case of high performance steels in particular, the proportion of alloying additions sometimes exceeds 30 per cent. These, in turn, are particularly energy and CO 2 intensive in their procurement.

It will therefore become increasingly important to alloy with quality scrap instead of pure metals in the future. The use of primary alloys cannot be completely avoided, especially for some special grades with specific requirements. However, in order to further reduce Scope 3 emissions, both metallurgical and recycling technology innovations are required. The metallurgical laboratory of the Swiss Steel Group at Ugitech in Ugine, France, has been making a name for itself in this field for years. One of the innovations developed there is the Ugi`Ring project, which is being worked on together with regional partners. The ten-year, government-funded project will help to reduce the need for primary alloys, thereby increasing the company’s competitiveness and further reducing the CO 2 footprint of the material used. The aim is to create the world’s first “circular” steelworks in which the company’s own secondary alloys are produced from waste products such as batteries, catalytic converters and similar materials. This will also make the company independent of primary alloy supplies from politically unstable producer countries. Energy mix makes the difference As a rule, the steelworks on the electric arc furnace route use the energy mix that is available to them in their respective area at reasonable prices. However, it is also possible to specifically purchase only electricity from renewable energy sources, which in turn has a drastic effect on the CO 2 footprint of the material that is produced in these steelworks.

The electric arc furnace route has gained popularity in recent years

For example, the Swiss Steel Group’s Green Steel Climate+ quality has a CO 2 footprint that is up to 83 per cent lower than the global average for steel production. Swiss Steel Group’s decision to go down the electric arc furnace route reflects the change in the steel industry as a whole. More and more companies are recognising the need to rethink their production processes and pursue more environmentally friendly alternatives. “This paradigm shift is not only a response to regulatory requirements, but also an act of corporate responsibility towards society and future generations,” said Frank Koch, CEO of the Swiss Steel Group. In order to underpin the strategic decision to decarbonise, the company has therefore also joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) with the aim of validating the roadmap for further decarbonisation this year. The SBTi has also developed a Net-Zero Standard for companies. This provides a clear and science-based definition of net zero and is a world-first framework in the private sector

62

www.read-tpt.com

NOVEMBER 2024