New Zealand Steel has advised that it is bringing the start of commissioning forward for its $300 million electric arc furnace. With civil works well underway this date will now be in 2025, rather than the earlier projection of 2026.
It’s not the only big news for the Metals NZ member. The design phase has concluded that, because of further reduced coal consumption, the company is now looking at up to one million tonnes (a megatonne) reduction in its annual carbon emissions. This is a significant increase on the initial forecast of a reduction up to 800,000 tonnes.
The company has secured an electric arc furnace design and supply contract with Italian firm Danieli Group, which will see state-of-the-art technology installed in the new build. The first parts of the arc furnace are expected to begin arriving in the country in February 2025.
The new arc furnace will ensure greater volumes of scrap will be recycled using more renewable electricity. This in turn will provide further reductions in carbon emissions and more demand management flexibility for power supply into the Auckland region.
Scrap steel supply agreements are in place with Global Metal Solutions and Sims Metal. Under these agreements hundreds of thousands of tonnes of domestic scrap steel will soon be recycled locally rather than being shipped offshore.
This is an exciting time for New Zealand Steel’s customers and partners, for the domestic steel recycling sector, and for the country as a whole.