New Capacity Roundup

Here is a rundown of the major steelmakers' latest production and capacity investments announced this month.

Europe

Salzgitter has broken ground on a new €13 million direct reduced iron demonstration plant, in Peine, Lower Saxony, Germany. The unit will be powered by either hydrogen, natural gas, or a combination of the two. It will be used by Salzgitter to test new technology, as it searches for new methods of production to help fulfill its target of reducing CO2 emissions by ninety-five percent. Commissioning is scheduled for the first half of 2022.

North America

Cleveland-Cliffs held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its recently commissioned Toledo hot-briquetted iron (HBI) plant in, Ohio. The company has invested close to US$1 billion constructing the facility, which has capacity to produce up to 1.9 million tonnes of HBI, per year. Equipment at the site will be powered using natural gas. However, the company has stated that it could be converted to use hydrogen, should a market develop for material produced using that process.

US Steel has outlined its intention to invest US$450 million constructing a new non-grain oriented electrical steel line at its recently acquired Big River facility, in Arkansas. The line will have a nominal annual output of up to 200,000 short tons when it enters service, in late 2023.

North American Stainless has announced that it will install a new slitting line at its Kentucky steelworks. The fully automated unit can process sheet with a thickness ranging between 0.4mm and 3.0mm, formed into coils weighing up to 35 tonnes. The equipment is scheduled to enter service in the first quarter of 2022.

Asia

Suzhou Tengkai Metal Materials is close to commissioning a stainless steel long products plant in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. Once completed the facility will have capacity to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of wire rod and up to 700,000 tonnes of bar products, annually.

Japan’s JFE Steel has commissioned a two million tonnes per year capacity continuous caster at its Kurashiki steelworks. The new unit will produce heavy duty steel plates for use in offshore wind turbines. The company is also in the process of modernising a blast furnace and a continuous pickling line at the site. This investment is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021.