Voestalpine to Build Two EAFs in Austria

As part of its “greentec steel” plan, the plant and supplier decision will be made this year, construction will start in 2024, and commissioning of the two units will take place in 2027, voestalpine said.

“We need to start this year if we are to meet our target of commissioning the two new electric-arc furnaces in Linz and Donawitz in 2027,” Herbert Eibensteiner, CEO of voestalpine, said in a statement.

However, the exact start of implementation depends on clarifying unresolved funding issues in Austria, voestalpine noted.

The two EAFs will allow voestalpine to produce around 2.5 million tons of CO2-reduced steel – 1.6 million tons in Linz and 850,000 tons in Donawitz.

The company noted this will allow the group to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 30% beginning in 2027, with blast furnaces being replaced by the EAFs.

The EAFs will use scrap, liquid pig iron, and hot-briquetted iron (HBI). Voestalpine said it will source the HBI from the (direct-reduction) iron plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, in which it owns a 20% stake. ArcelorMittal is the majority stakeholder.

By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com