UK-based Liberty Steel Group, part of GFG Alliance, has announced that it has launched the public tender process for new hybrid furnaces for its Ostrava plant in the Czech Republic. The project is the first of its kind in Europe and is aimed at achieving Ostrava’s carbon neutrality by 2030.
The two hybrid furnaces will replace the plant’s existing four tandem furnaces by 2023. The new furnaces will reduce dust emissions by 60 percent. Once the 400kV power line is installed by 2025, carbon emissions will be reduced by more than 50 percent, as the furnaces will be able to use 70 percent scrap, reducing the plant’s reliance on imported coal and iron ore.
“This is an important step forward for the Liberty Ostrava transformation. These new furnaces will reduce the carbon emissions from the plant, which means we will be well on the way to produce carbon neutral Greensteel at Liberty Ostrava,” Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty Steel Group, said.
Liberty Steel Group plans to invest a total of €750 million in the development of its Ostrava steelworks over the course of the next ten years, as SteelOrbis understands. In addition to the modernization of the steel plant, the transformation will also include an extensive modernization of the steel rolling mills, which will improve the quality of steel and expand the product portfolio with high added value products.