Russian steelmaker Severstal has announced that it has begun building a waste-heat thermal power plant (UTPP) at the Cherepovets Iron and Steel Works (CherMK), its flagship production site. The project is designed to expand the company’s own power-generation capacity by converting blast-furnace gas into electricity, while also achieving significant reductions in emissions.
According to the company, the project forms a core part of Severstal’s energy-efficiency and decarbonization strategy.
The power plant valued at over RUB 10 billion ($126.42 million) will:
- increase Severstal’s own electricity generation by using waste industrial gases,
- reduce reliance on purchased natural gas,
- lower greenhouse-gas emissions by more than 420,000 mt of carbon annually,
- enable CherMK to meet up to 95 percent of its electricity demand from internal generation.
The company emphasized that the project supports the company’s target of a 10 percent carbon reduction by 2030 compared with 2020 levels.
Technical scope of new facility
The UTPP will include a water-treatment system, a steam-boiler unit, a condensing turbine, a closed-cycle water-cooling system with a fan tower, a 220 kV electrical-grid connection, and auxiliary infrastructure.
This configuration will allow CherMK to utilize around 2.7 billion m³ of blast-furnace gas per year, generating about 1.2 billion kWh of electricity from recycled resources.
Supporting future production at CherMK
The new plant will also supply power to upcoming facilities at Cherepovets, including the iron ore pellet production complex, enhancing Severstal’s ability to expand production using low-emission electricity.
Construction, commissioning and equipment testing are scheduled for completion in the second half of 2026.
