Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK), one of the four largest steel companies in Russia plans to build a low-carbon steel production facility at its Stoilensky mining and processing complex, one of the largest production units of the company, located in the Belgorod region.
Implementation of these plans will be part of the company’s preparations for a potential tightening of carbon regulation in the European market.
The volume of investments in the project is estimated at RUB 250 billion (US$3,4 billion), a significant part of which will be allocated in the construction of a shop for the production of hot briquetted iron (HBI).
As part of the company’s plans, the use of HBI as a raw material can cut carbon emissions in steel production by half. This is already the second major project in the industry, announced by local majors in a view of the introduction of a carbon tax in the EU.
In 2020, the owner of OMK, which is the world's leading producer of large diameter pipes Anatoly Sedykh, announced investments of 140 billion rubles in the construction of a steel mill using direct reduced iron.
The NLMK’s project involves the expansion of the existing open pit with an increase in ore production from 43 million tonnes to 67 million tonnes per year, the construction of additional processing facilities with a total capacity of 10 million tonnes of concentrate, a pelletizing plant with a capacity of 9 million tonnes of pellets, and the construction of a HBI production plant with a capacity of 2 , 5 million tons. Implementation of the project is scheduled for 2024–2027, and commissioning is scheduled for 2027–2028.
By: Eugen Gerden