2023-12-16 05:15:00
The investment of 1,000 million euros for the decarbonization of ArcelorMittal’s steel headquarter in Gijón still depends on an energy price framework that makes the project viable and the electricity market reform agreed on Thursday by the Council and the European Parliament is far from meeting the demands of the sector. It is a “cosmetic” reform, he judged yesterday Andres Barcelogeneral director of Unesid, the Spanish steel association to which ArcelorMittal belongs.
Unesid recognizes that the agreement reached on the reform of the EU electricity market is good news because it means providing all operators in the sector with a legal framework that avoids uncertainty, although it considers that it falls far short. “The steel industry would have preferred a really ambitious reform, which is why we support the initial proposal of the Spanish Government,” said the general director of Unesid, Andrés Barceló, who regretted that “the European Union has chosen an almost cosmetic reform that we are not sure would “guarantee, beyond good wishes, that our industry has electricity on the competitive terms it needs, and that allows it to continue with the very relevant investments it has to make to complete decarbonization.”
The main investment proposed in Spain to cut emissions from the steel industry is the ArcelorMittal project to replace one of the two blast furnaces in Gijón with a direct reduction iron ore plant (DRI system) with green hydrogen and a hybrid furnace Electric arc. The first of the two actions is still pending approval by the multinational, which is negotiating with the Government an energy cost scenario that makes the investment viable.
The reform of the EU electricity market agreed on Thursday, which does not modify the controversial marginalist system, tries to avoid price spikes by reducing the weight of the daily market in shaping prices and favoring forward contracts. However, in Unesid’s opinion, it does not guarantee a reduction in costs for large industry. “If the solution for decarbonization is the electrification of industry, mobility and homes, it is essential that there is a supply of electricity at competitive prices because, otherwise, neither society nor companies will be able to address this electrification” , assured Barceló, who added that “the market situation, with the disproportionate impact that fossil fuels have on the formation of the electricity price, means that increases in electricity production from renewable sources and the eventual extension of the life of nuclear power plants are not transmitted to industrial consumers and citizens automatically.
The director of Unesid explained that “electricity is a fundamental input for the industry that has a very relevant national component, which places the Spanish steel industry at a competitive disadvantage compared to the French and German industries in relation to the treatment that both countries provide. to the electro-intensive industry subject to competition in international markets”.
On the other hand, the union section of CC OO at ArcelorMittal yesterday called on the staff to participate in the calendar of mobilizations called to force an agreement for the new collective agreement, whose negotiation table has met for the tenth time without progress.
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