steel news

• Will be delivered to Bethioua, Algeria, and combined with a new hot-strip mill
• The order includes Flow Master, which is an electromagnetic stirring and braking system, Level 2 automation package, and Through-Process Optimization (TPO) – a comprehensive quality tracking system
• Thanks to the “Connect and Cast” concept, the startup phase is quick and effective

Turkish-based Tosyali Holding recently ordered a new slab caster from Primetals Technologies. Tosyali is aiming to expand in the Algerian market by implementing the slab caster together with a new hot-strip mill at its site in Bethioua, located in the north-western part of Algeria. Started in 2013, this steel plant employs 4,000 people. The company has a 70 percent share of the Algerian steel market.

Kobe Steel (KOBELCO) announces today that it will launch "Kobenable Steel" and become Japan's first* provider of low CO2 blast furnace steel products with significantly reduced CO2 emissions during the blast furnace ironmaking process. The Company plans to start selling the new products this fiscal year.

• Largest-ever heat size at a vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) plant
• Same plant reached record-low carbon levels
• Deep know-how in steelmaking key for handling heat size this big

Recently, a vacuum oxygen decarburization (VOD) plant supplied by Primetals Technologies achieved a heat size of 298.2 tons – a world record in stainless steelmaking. In addition, the same plant reached a carbon content of 5 parts per million (ppm) after decarburization, which marks another world record for VOD plants. Turkish steel producer Çolakoğlu operates the plant, located in Dilovası about 60 kilometers to the south-east of Istanbul.

To be installed close to Pattaya, Thailand, the new six-high cold finishing mill for Siam Poongsan Metal will roll a wide product mix of copper, brass and copper-nickel alloys competitively. Strip dimensions will range from an entry thickness of 3.0 mm down to a minimum finish thickness of 0.05 mm, at a maximum strip width of 450 mm.

• Nickel and its sulfate for high-performance batteries
• Huge step towards sustainable electro mobility
• Joint effort within SMS group in terms of Circular Economy and battery production

Electro mobility and the transition to green energy are only possible with the development and application of highly efficient battery technologies. The nickel content of these high-performance batteries is steadily growing.

Hydrogen appears an early yet significant substitute for PCI coal in blast furnaces

Key takeaways:

• Russia supplies virtually all of Europe’s PCI coal. Australia as the only other major supplier is unlikely to be able to make up for lost Russian supplies.
• Steelmakers are slowly starting to shift to low- and zero-emissions steelmaking processes that don’t use coal.
• PCI coal will be the first grade of metallurgical coal impacted by the decarbonisation of steel.
• Rio Tinto, BHP, BlueScope and Thyssenkrupp are exploring alternative options to the use of PCI coal

LaVa-X and RAYLASE: technology partnership for increased productivity and reduced resource consumption with laser welding in vacuum.

Fuel cells are considered a key technology in the energy transition. Due to the expanding electromobility, the demand for bipolar plates for fuel cells is also increasing. It is therefore increasingly important to weld the plates quickly and with as little effort as possible. The highest quality requirements must be met at all times. For optimized welding processes, LaVa-X, a solution provider for laser beam welding in a vacuum, is cooperating with RAYLASE, a provider of components for rapid deflection and modulation of laser beams.

For the expansion of its steel plant in Danapur, Indian steel producer BMM Ispat awarded Danieli Corus a contract for a complete, 0.88-Mtpy blast furnace complex. The plant will be installed in an iron ore-rich area in India’s Karnataka state, where BMM Ispat currently produces pellets, sponge iron and a variety of long products.