New Capacity Roundup - August

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

Europe

ArcelorMittal plans to adapt its Sestao flat product facility, located near Bilbao, into what it calls “the world’s first full-scale zero carbon-emissions steel plant”, by 2025. To achieve this, the company has authorised the construction of a DRI plant at a nearby facility, in Gijón, which will produce up to 2.3 million tonnes of sponge iron, per year. Nearly half of this output will be used as feedstock for two EAFs operating at Sestao. Furthermore, the company plans to power the steelmaking equipment at the site with renewable energy.

North America

Optimus Steel will soon start work modernising its wire rod mini-mill located in Vidor, Texas. The revamp is expected to be completed before the year-end. Improvements include the addition of new high-speed cutting shears, a new coil finishing line and upgrades to the plant’s water treatment facilities.

Asia

Baosteel Zhanjiang Steel is due to commission a new blast furnace at its facility in Guangdong province, in August. The four million tonnes per year capacity unit will increase the plant’s overall output by close to fifty percent. It was authorised under the company’s capacity replacement scheme. Plant operator, Baowu Group, is also examining a proposal to install up to 1 million tonnes of hydrogen-powered DRI capacity at the Zhanjiang site.

Tsingtuo Stainless Steel, part of the Tsingshan Group, has commissioned a new high-speed wire rod mill at its facility in Fujian province. The new equipment has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tonnes, effectively doubling the plant’s output of this product. The project was approved as part of the provincial authorities’ plans to increase total annual stainless steel production, in Fujian, to seven million tonnes, by 2025.

Wuzhou Yongda Stainless Steel has outlined its intention to construct a hot rolled stainless coil plant adjacent to its existing facilities in Guanxi province. The new equipment is expected to produce up to two million tonnes per year, when it is commissioned towards the end of 2022.

A new stainless steel strip mill, with an annual output of 125,000 tonnes, recently entered service at a site operated by China’s Zhejiang Yongjin Metal Technology. The company confirms that it has started construction of a second mill at the plant. This will add a further 195,000 tonnes per year capacity, once completed, in the second half of 2022.