British Steel‘s blast furnaces at Scunthorpe will be kept running into the New Year.
After previous reports back in August that the blast furnaces could close this year, a British Steel spokesperson has now confirmed three months on that it will not be closing the furnaces in 2024. More than 2,000 workers would have been affected by an early closure of the furnaces.
The raw materials have been purchased to run the furnaces into the New Year. British Steel has planning permission to build an electric arc furnace (EAF) at the Scunthorpe site, which would replace the blast furnaces, and will result in fewer jobs. When applying for that permission, it was stated the blast furnaces would remain in operation until the EAF was up and running.
A British Steel spokesperson has now confirmed the blast furnaces will run beyond the end of 2024, saying: “As part of our ongoing commitment to securing a long-term sustainable future for British Steel in Scunthorpe, we recently purchased raw materials that will see our operations continue to run into the new year.
“At the same time, we remain in active discussions with Government, working together to ensure British Steel continues to play a vital role in meeting the UK’s infrastructure needs.”
The Independent claimed in late August that British Steel may move forward the closure of its blast furnaces to this year, and had ordered the last coke coal supplies for the furnaces. British Steel said “no final decision” had been made on bringing forward the blast furnace closures.
A government spokesperson has confirmed the Department for Business and Trade remain in discussion with British Steel about a support package deal. They said: “This government will simply not allow the end of steel making in the UK.
“That’s why we’ve committed up to £2.5 billion of investment to rebuild the UK steel industry and support communities now and for generations to come. We’re working across government in partnership with trade unions and businesses, including British Steel, to secure a green steel transition that’s right for the workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.”
The Government reached a renewed deal in September with Tata Steel to provide £500m support for its Port Talbot steelworks, as it transitions to an EAF there.
(Image: Donna Clifford/GrimsbyLive)
The uncertainty over whether the blast furnaces would close in Scunthorpe before the year’s end had featured in Parliament. Brigg and Immingham MP Martin Vickers spoke in September of the “great anxiety” for workers the reports had caused. In a steel industry debate last month, he pressed the Government to set out its intentions for the steel industry.
Industry Minister Sarah Jones pledged a government steel strategy, “developed and delivered in partnership with the steel sector and the trade unions”. For commercial confidentiality reasons, she could not give detail of discussion with Jingye Group, British Steel’s owners, but said, “We are working unbelievably hard to get a solution for Scunthorpe.”
The move to EAF technology is to decarbonise the industry. British Steel announced last year a £1.25bn investment plan to build two EAFs, one in Teesside, the other at Scunthorpe. When obtaining planning permission for the latter, it was argued the move also reflected market demand for greener steel.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
