Metinvest, an international vertically integrated group of mining and metals companies, signed a memorandum of cooperation with K1-MET, a leading Austrian research center in metallurgy, to implement joint projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the steel industry in line with the European Green Deal.
As part of its long-term vision to develop emissions-free steelmaking, Metinvest plans to increase the sustainability of its production facilities and is interested in gaining experience of leading technologies aimed at reducing environmental footprint. Meanwhile, К1-МЕТ has profound experience and expertise regarding the implementation of research and development projects focusing on energy efficiency, the circular economy, carbon capture, storage and usage, climate-neutral metal production and other related areas in collaboration with leading industrial players, research organizations and institutes.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, pointed to the group’s awareness of the urgent need to reduce the negative impact of metallurgical production on the environment.
“Metinvest is constantly looking at various technological solutions to reduce its emissions today and in the future. The partnership with K1-MET represents an important part of a comprehensive approach to decarbonizing the steel industry in the long run, and we will continue to actively explore this and other areas,” he said.
In turn, Thomas Buergler, CEO of K1-MET, said that the decision of the 2015 climate conference in Paris to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100 compared with the pre-industrial period, and the EU Green Deal 2019, which aims to make Europe a carbon-neutral continent in 2050, highlight great challenges for resource-intensive industry.
“The focus of the research and development programme at the K1-MET metallurgical competence centre is aligned with the climate targets, sustainable development goals and needs of our industrial partners,” the General Director said.
The projects combine carbon-neutral technologies, the circular economy and digitalization for sustainable steelmaking. Strategic research will also be increasingly considered to gain a deeper understanding of process flows. At K1-MET, the interaction of industrial and scientific partners helps to ensure that results from applied research can be transferred to industrial applications. The partnership with Metinvest based on the memorandum signed sets the course for this.
K1-MET (Austria) is one of the leading and internationally renowned metallurgical competence centres for ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. It cooperates with established national and international partners from the sector to cover issues such as energy efficiency, the circular economy and carbon-neutral metal production. K1-MET and its partners are working on process solutions to advance the transformation of the European metallurgical industry.
AUSTRIAN RESEARCH CENTER, CARBON FOOTPRINT, COOPERATION, METINVEST
Metinvest, an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, will act as the general partner of the international forum “Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: a Challenge for Ukraine,” which will be held in Kyiv on July 14, 2021.
According to the company’s press release, an event on the topic that has been discussed by the entire international community in recent years will be held in Ukraine for the first time.
As noted, for many years of operation, Metinvest has been striving to reduce the negative impact of production on the environment. Over the past 10 years, the group has allocated more than $ 3.4 billion for environmental initiatives and is committed to further reducing its carbon footprint to combat climate change.
Meanwhile, achieving carbon neutrality will be a big challenge for Ukrainian companies, as it involves a complete change in production processes and supply chains. In addition, the necessary technologies that will make the country’s economy carbon-free are only at the research stage. To develop a detailed roadmap for the transition to a “green” industry requires interaction between manufacturers, engineering companies, consumers, suppliers and the government.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the director general of Metinvest, stressed that the industry is facing a serious task that will affect the life of the entire country.
“Decarbonization can completely change both production and technologies. The sooner business and the state develop a unified approach to achieving carbon neutrality, the easier this process will be for the Ukrainian economy,” the top manager stated.
The forum is organized by GMK Center, an information-analytical and consulting company working in the field of metallurgy and industry. At the forum it is planned to discuss issues related to decarbonization of steel production, existing and promising technologies, plans of companies to reduce CO2 emissions and interaction with the state in this direction. The event will be attended by the representatives of mining and metallurgical companies, international engineering, consulting and R&D companies, as well as government officials, business associations and industry experts.
Metinvest, an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, is exploring the possibility, together with Itlay’s Danieli, to build a new rolling mill in Italy.
Metinvest CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said at a press conference devoted to the company’s 15th anniversary held in Kyiv on Wednesday that the project involves the construction of a new production facility in Italy, where Ukrainian slabs will be rolled into hot-rolled flat products.
“The Metinvest Group is really exploring the possibility of building a rolling mill in Italy,” Ryzhenkov said.
At the same time, he recalled that the group already has two plants in Italy, where flat-rolled products are produced from Ukrainian slabs. And Metinvest has always noted that this market is interesting and promising for the company.
“But Metinvest has not made a final decision on this project,” the top manager said.
According to him, now the project is at the pre-feasibility stage, negotiations are also underway with the owners of the site, and the construction of a plant is planned.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group of mining and metallurgical enterprises. Its enterprises are located in Ukraine – in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, in European countries. In particular, in Bulgaria it has Promet Steel plant with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes of rolled metal per year, in Italy – Metinvest Trametal and Ferriera Valsider with a total annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. In the U.K., the company owns Spartan UK plant that is capable to produce 200,000 tonnes of rolled steel annually.
The main shareholders of Metinvest are SCM Group (71.24%) and Smart Holding (23.76%), which jointly manage the company.
Metinvest, an international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group of companies, is launching a large-scale project for the construction of a new workshop for the production of cold-rolled steel, galvanized and painted coils at Illich Metallurgical Plant (Donetsk region). According to a company press release, the group signed a contract for the supply of equipment with the world’s leading supplier of metallurgical technologies, Italy’s Danieli, on June 10. The total investment in the project will exceed $1 billion.
At the same time, it is specified that it is planned to build a cold rolling shop at Illich steel mill, which will consist of a continuous cold rolling mill combined with a pickling line, as well as three modern lines for applying zinc, aluminum-zinc and polymer coatings. At the first stage, investments in the project will exceed $800 million.
For the construction of the complex, Metinvest will attract a large foreign contractor with experience of participation in similar projects.
It is planned that in 2025, after the completion of the first stage of the project, the mill will produce about 1.2 million tonnes of highly competitive cold-rolled and galvanized steel, as well as color-coated steel per year. At the same time, the capacity for the production of cold-rolled coils will amount to more than 400,000 tonnes, galvanized coils – over 60,000 tonnes and polymer-coated coils – more than 140,000 tonnes.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the Director General of Metinvest, noted that the construction of a cold rolling mill is the company’s most ambitious project for the next five years.
“This is a logical continuation of the program of modernization of rolled steel production at Illich steel plant. The entire new technological chain, including a modern continuous casting machine, a reconstructed 1700 mill and a new cold rolling shop, will allow Metinvest to achieve world-class product quality at all stages of production – from semi-finished products to coated rolled products. The production of premium high-tech goods, the use of advanced technologies, environmental friendliness and the creation of new jobs for qualified specialists – all this makes the project significant for Mariupol, for the industry, and for the whole country,” the top manager said.
Consolidated revenue of Metinvest B.V. (the Netherlands), the parent company of the international vertically integrated mining and metallurgical group Metinvest, in January-March this year increased by 43% compared to the same period last year, to $3.624 billion.
According to the published preliminary unaudited consolidated results of the company’s financial statements, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $1.462 million, which is 3.92 times higher than in the same period last year ($373 million). The margin was 40% (15% in Q1, 2020).
It is noted that Metinvest’s consolidated revenues rose by 43% which is driven primarily by higher selling prices of steel and iron ore products in line with global benchmarks. In addition, the Group increased sales volumes of flat products by 6% y-o-y, as a result of a recovery in demand in several strategic markets for the Group, as well as recently implemented investments.
Metinvest also boosted pellet shipments by 34% y-o-y, amid higher pellet premiums globally.
During the reporting period, revenues in Ukraine increased by 30% y-o-y, to $947 million. This was mainly due to higher average selling prices of steel and iron ore products, as well as higher sales volumes of iron ore products (up 17%) and coke (up 18%). The share of Ukraine in consolidated revenues edged down by 3 percentage points (p.p.) y-o-y, to 26%.
Sales to other markets increased by 48% y-o-y, to $2.677 million in the first quarter of 2021, accounting for 74% of total revenues. Sales to Europe surged by 54% y-o-y, primarily amid higher steel and iron ore selling prices. In addition, sales volumes of cast iron, flat products and pellets rose by 32%, 28% and 51%, respectively. As a result, the region’s share in overall revenues increased by 3 p.p. y-o-y, to 35%.
Revenues from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rose by 48% y-o-y, mainly amid higher steel selling prices, as well as greater shipments of pig iron (up 29%), slabs (up 73%) and flat products (up 4%). The region’s share in consolidated revenues remained unchanged at 18%.
Sales to Southeast Asia increased by 9% y-o-y, amid higher iron ore selling prices despite practically no shipments of semi-finished and finished steel products to the region. Southeast Asia’s share in consolidated revenues declined by 2 p.p. y-o-y, to 8%.
Revenues from the CIS rose by 20% y-o-y, primarily as a result of higher selling prices for flat products. Meanwhile, the region’s share in consolidated revenues declined by 1 p.p. y-o-y, to 5%.
In the first quarter of this year, consolidated EBITDA was $1.462 billion, which is 3.9 times higher compared to the same period last year. This was primarily driven by an increase in the Mining segment’s contribution of $676 million and in the Metallurgical segment’s contribution of $494 million. In addition, corporate overheads decreased by $2 million, while eliminations increased by $83 million.
The increase in consolidated EBITDA was primarily attributable to higher average selling prices for steel and iron ore products, the effect of which on sales of Metinvest’s goods totaled $778 million. Higher prices also improved earnings from resales (up by $23 million) and the contribution of both joint ventures (up by $216 million).
In the first quarter of this year, the Group’s consolidated EBITDA margin increased by 25 p.p. y-o-y, to 40%. The Metallurgical segment’s EBITDA margin rose by 16 p.p. y-o-y, to 24%, while that of the Mining segment climbed by 38 p.p. y-o-y, to 75%.
Metinvest, the largest Ukrainian mining and metallurgical holding, in 2020 ranked 45th in the list of the world’s largest steel producers with a volume of 10.16 million tonnes compared to the 42nd place in 2017-2019, when it produced 9.59 million tonnes, 9.37 million tonnes and 9.58 million tonnes, respectively.
According to the annual compilation published by the World Steel Association (Worldsteel), China Baowu Group became the largest steel company last year with 115.29 million tonnes, and ArcelorMittal dropped to the second place from the first position with 78.46 million tonnes.
They are followed by Shagang Group with 41.59 million tonnes, Nippon Steel with 41.58 million tonnes, HBIS Group with 43.76 million tonnes, and POSCO with 40.58 million tonnes.
There are no Ukrainian companies in the list of the 50 largest world steel producers in 2020, as well as in 2014-2019, except for Metinvest. Industrial Union of Donbas corporation (ISD), which ranked 44th in 2013 with a production volume of 7.9 million tonnes, dropped out of the list of leaders.
According to Worldsteel, Ukraine produced 20.6 million tonnes of steel in 2020 and ranked 12th.
