Germany-based special steel producer Georgsmarienhuette Gruppe (GMH) has announced that the EAF at its Osnabrück plant was shut down on Monday, January 20, following the energy price hike in the country, according to the company’s managing director Anne-Marie Grossmann. The company had been stopping production between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. every day since the beginning of January, but this was not enough to tackle the high costs, SteelOrbis understands.
Grossmann shared on her LinkedIn account that energy prices and the energy policy followed in recent years in Germany have hurt German steel producers’ competitiveness, resulting in orders being diverted to competitors in other markets. The current energy prices in Germany exceed €400/MWh, while spot electricity prices in 2019 were stable under €130/MWh.
The company plans to keep the EAF inactive until the end of February, after which the situation will be reassessed.