Australia's first new steel mill in three decades will be unlike any before it.
Run entirely on electricity, the Greensteel Australia factory to be built in the NSW Hunter region will make steel that's low emissions and unencumbered by fossil fuel supply chains.
To be built on the site of the old BHP Newcastle Steelworks in Mayfield, the Sydney-based company's $500 million investment marks the return of steel-making to the state's manufacturing heartland.
The traditional method of using giant gas-fired furnaces is intensively carbon-intensive. (Aap Image/AAP PHOTOS)
The plant is expected to be up and running by early 2028, producing 600,000 tonnes of finished steel a year and employing 200 full-time staff.
The announcement on Tuesday marks the first of a multi-stage project that will leverage hydrogen-fuelled direct reduced iron technology, electric arc furnace steelmaking, renewable energy and global industrial partnerships.
The mill will rely on electricity to generate heat and make steel with no direct greenhouse gas emissions.
The traditional method of using giant gas-fired furnaces is intensively carbon-intensive, with the global iron and steelmaking industry responsible for roughly one-tenth of all emissions.
"Every tonne of steel we forge at Mayfield is a tonne Australia doesn't have to import," Greensteel Australia chairman Ross Garnaut said.
"That means more reliable supply and better prices for builders, and because there is no gas anywhere in our process, it also means lower embodied carbon in the homes and infrastructure this country needs."
Steel manufacturing is returning to Newcastle, where Australian steelmaking began. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)
A local supply of steel made without exposure to volatile gas markets should help lower home-building costs, he said, helping Australia meet housing construction targets.
Company chief executive Romany Ibrahim said the Commonwealth's Future Made in Australia strategy and other state and federal policy settings on housing and manufacturing had provided the confidence necessary for the project to go ahead.
"Thanks to the leadership of the NSW and federal governments, we're building again," he said.
"They've made it possible to bring manufacturing home to Newcastle, where Australian steelmaking began and where it never should have left."
September 1999 marked the end of era in industrial history for BHP Australia when the old Newcastle steelworks closed.
Workers walked out of the BHP Newcastle steelworks for the last time on September 30, 1999. (Jeremy Piper/AAP PHOTOS)
The plant, which had stood since 1915, produced steel used in the building of railways, roads and other major infrastructure throughout Australia.
It also supplied the alloy used in the construction of the deck and approach spans of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Some 600 workers opted to take redundancy packages when the gates to the Mayfield site were shut.
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/location-secured-first-gas-free-011717501.html
Baker Hughes, a leading energy technology company, announced that it has secured multiple contracts from India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) to deliver advanced wireline services aimed at enhancing reservoir understanding, optimizing production, and supporting more efficient field development across India’s offshore and onshore oil and gas assets. The awards were finalized during the second quarter (H2) of 2026, according to a press release by Baker Hughes.
Under the agreements, Baker Hughes will deploy innovative wireline logging, perforation, and drill stem testing solutions to boost production and accelerate exploration. The company plans to mobilize up to 46 wireline units and seven drill stem testing kits, incorporating technologies such as Proxima™ advanced logging services, RCX™ MAGNA multi-probe sampling, and DeepConnect™ reservoir-driven perforating charges across both mature and greenfield developments. Together, these tools enable high-resolution subsurface evaluation, precise fluid characterization, and optimized perforation design, driving improved well productivity and more efficient field operations.
“Baker Hughes and ONGC share a 20-year history of collaboration in India, and this work has played a critical role in unlocking the country’s hydrocarbon resources,” Amerino Gatti, Baker Hughes Executive Vice President of Oilfield Services & Equipment, commented.
“Building on that foundation, we are delivering our leading wireline services to help ONGC maximize recovery from mature assets while improving efficiency in new developments, contributing to a more secure energy future for the country,” Gatti noted.
Offshore, Baker Hughes wireline services will be deployed across more than 30 shallow-water exploratory and development rigs in the Neelam Heera, Mumbai High North, Mumbai High South, Bassein Satellite, and Tapti Daman fields. The company will also support deepwater exploration programs in the Mahanadi, Andaman, Cauvery, and KG basins. Onshore, wireline units will be utilized for exploration and development activities in the mature Bengal, KG, and Assam-Arakan basins.
Baker Hughes maintains a strong presence in India and will utilize its wireline facilities in Taloja, near Mumbai, and Duliajan in the northeast to conduct maintenance, calibration, and testing activities. This localized infrastructure underpins consistent execution and delivery of wireline services, reinforcing ONGC’s operational efficiency across its nationwide operations.
https://egyptoil-gas.com/news/baker-hughes-to-deploy-advanced-wireline-services-in-india/
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has chartered the tanker Jasmin Joy to lift crude from Iraq's Basrah terminal on July 19-20. This marks the first major booking by an Indian state refiner following recent navigation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The move is vital for maintaining steady feedstock supplies at the company’s 300,000 barrel-per-day facility in Karnataka.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has secured a cargo of Iraqi crude, a development that signals a return to normalcy for India’s energy supply chains. The state-owned refiner has chartered the Aframax tanker, Jasmin Joy, to transport oil from Iraq’s Basrah terminal, with loading operations slated for July 19-20. This booking is notable as it is the first such shipment by an Indian state refiner since regional tensions forced a partial suspension of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Strategic Importance for Supply Security
The Strait of Hormuz serves as a critical maritime artery, facilitating the movement of nearly 20% of the world’s oil and gas. Recent geopolitical instability between Israel and Iran led to significant security concerns, causing shipping lines to pause or divert vessels. For Indian refiners, this created a difficult operational environment, complicating the procurement of crude oil from terminals located west of the chokepoint. By successfully securing this vessel, MRPL is taking steps to bypass the logistical gridlock that has hampered imports over the recent period.
Operational Context and Financial Monitorables
MRPL operates a large-scale refinery in Mangalore, Karnataka, with an installed capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The stability of crude oil procurement is a primary factor for the company, as it directly influences refinery throughput and capacity utilisation. Investors often track procurement updates because any prolonged inability to source crude can lead to sub-optimal operations or the need to source oil from more expensive, alternative markets, which in turn pressures profit margins.
Beyond logistics, the company’s performance is heavily influenced by the gross refining margin, which measures the difference between the cost of crude oil and the selling price of refined petroleum products. While securing this cargo is a positive step for operational continuity, shareholders may look to the upcoming quarterly results to assess whether increased freight rates or insurance premiums—caused by the regional uncertainty—have impacted the company’s bottom line. Additionally, tracking the consistency of supply flows from the Middle East remains a key monitorable to ensure that the Mangalore refinery continues to run at optimal levels without further disruptions.
PARAMARIBO, SURINAME – Combined oil production from the Guyana-Suriname Basin could overtake output from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico before 2032, according to S&P Global.
Speaking at the Suriname Energy, Oil and Gas Summit (SEOGS) 2026, Isaac Nuti, Principal Analyst at S&P Global Energy, said the firm’s production outlook shows the two regions heading in opposite directions, with Guyana and Suriname continuing to ramp up output while production in the U.S. Gulf gradually declines.
“The first thing you notice is they’re almost the exact opposite of each other,” Nuti said while presenting S&P’s production forecasts. “If you were to add them together, it’s almost like Guyana and Suriname offset this decline in production from the Gulf of Mexico.”
Nuti said the crossover could occur even sooner than S&P currently forecasts. “We could actually see this change happen even faster, not because the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is going to fall off a cliff or anything, but strictly because the pace of development is almost impossible to contend with when you’re bringing 250,000-barrel-per-day FPSOs online every year,” he said.
He contrasted that with the U.S. Gulf, where recent discoveries have generally become smaller, leading operators to prioritize infrastructure-led exploration and tieback developments that connect new finds to existing production facilities.
“In the U.S. Gulf, the discovery size is starting to shrink,” Nuti said. “Sometimes it goes from discovery to first production in a year, which is absolutely amazing… However, they would need probably 10 to 20 of those to match and contend with one large FPSO.”
While the Gulf of Mexico continues to benefit from new high-pressure, high-temperature developments, Nuti said Guyana and Suriname possess a different advantage: large frontier discoveries capable of supporting standalone floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs), each producing hundreds of thousands of barrels per day.
He also pointed to additional upside from future gas developments in the basin, including floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) projects, which he suggested may not yet be fully reflected in current forecasts.
“In Guyana and Suriname, we have FLNG, which is perhaps even underestimated in some of these forecasts,” Nuti said. “That will be exciting to watch and see how that plays out.”
Guyana is already producing more than 900,000 barrels of oil per day from four FPSOs offshore, with additional developments under construction. Suriname is preparing for first oil from the GranMorgu project in Block 58 later this decade, while additional developments in Blocks 52 and 53 are expected to expand the country’s offshore production profile.
Retail gasoline and diesel prices fall sharply as lower global oil prices ease pressure on consumers and fuel demand.
China has reduced its domestic retail price ceilings for gasoline and diesel, following a decline in international crude oil prices amid easing concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
The move marks the country’s largest fuel price reduction in more than six years and follows two previous cuts within the past month. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), gasoline price ceilings will be reduced by 950 yuan ($140) per metric ton, while diesel ceilings will fall by 915 yuan per ton. The adjustments bring fuel prices to less than 2% above levels seen before the recent conflict involving Iran.
China reviews and adjusts retail fuel price caps every 10 working days, with the mechanism reflecting changes in global crude prices as well as processing, distribution and tax costs.
The latest reduction comes as benchmark crude prices have retreated, with Brent and WTI futures reaching their lowest levels since before the escalation of hostilities that had raised concerns about Middle East oil supplies.
Higher fuel costs during the conflict weighed on demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer. Oil imports fell 29% year-on-year in May, reaching their lowest level in eight years, while overall fuel demand was estimated to have declined by around 20%.
Market participants expect demand weakness to continue in the coming months. State-owned refiner Sinopec has forecast a roughly 10% year-on-year decline in demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel during the second and third quarters. S&P Global has issued a similar outlook for the second quarter.
By Simon Watkins - Jul 07, 2026, 5:00 PM CDT
Late June/early July normally brings twin events from Iraq for the global oil industry: an announcement that it intends to increase its crude oil production to either 6 or 7 million barrels per day (bpd) within three years, and a statement that its prime minister will visit Washington to discuss deepening strategic ties or something similar aimed at securing money from the U.S. This year is no different, with the announced three-year target being 7 million bpd, and the visit of new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi happening in the middle of this month. Previously, what usually happened was that Iraq promised various things that it thought Washington wanted to hear (mainly that it would stop importing Iranian gas and electricity, but needed one more waiver from the U.S. just to wind the process down), secured billions in funding from the U.S., and then returned to Baghdad to continue doing exactly what it was doing before, except with more money. But things may be different this time.
U.S. President Donald Trump may be many things, but a fool he is not, and having been lied to repeatedly by the Iraqis many times in his first term in office -- most importantly for him over Iran -- he has taken a tough line on Baghdad’s double-dealings. On 8 March last year, he blocked the renewal of Iraq’s waiver to keep importing Iranian electricity, and he encouraged the introduction a month later of the ‘Free Iraq from Iran Act’, designed to dismantle Tehran's political, economic, and military grip over Baghdad. The bill proposes restrictions on Iraq's import of liquefied natural gas from Iran and mandates a coordinated strategy by the U.S. State and Treasury Departments to systematically dismantle Iran-backed groups in Iraq, as analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order. At the same time, the U.S. Treasury blocked large-scale U.S. dollar shipments to Iraq, preventing over two dozen Iraqi banks from siphoning hard currency back to the Iranian regime and its proxy militias. The department also directly sanctioned high-ranking Iraqi officials -- including Iraq’s deputy oil minister -- for abusing state positions to facilitate illicit oil-smuggling networks that blend Iranian and Iraqi crude to generate billions of dollars for Tehran.
In another parallel move, April last year also saw the introduction of the ‘No Iranian Energy Act’ to U.S. lawmakers. As highlighted by the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Congressman August Pfluger, this legislation is part of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran’s leaders. “[These] are the world’s most dangerous state sponsors of terrorism, [and] the Iranian regime is not just a threat, its leaders are a genocidal death cult,” he said. The proposed Act will sanction the importation of Iranian natural gas to Iraq, which has for many years formed the foundation of the country’s domestic power sector. An adjunct piece of legislation – the ‘Iran Waiver Rescissions Act’ -- would permanently freeze Iranian-sanctioned assets everywhere, including Iraq, and prohibit any standing or future U.S. president from using any waiver authority to lift the sanctions. These collective measures, rigorously enforced, and accompanied by broad-based -- but conditional -- earlier investment pledges from Washington, meant that then-Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani’s earlier tightrope walking act between the U.S. and China had veered more firmly in Washington’s direction rather than Beijing’s. Consequently, the talks between new prime minister, al-Zaidi, and Washington, may start on a more transparent and straightforward basis than those of recent years.
In basic terms, the aim of the U.S. and its allies in Iraq is to work with both the south and the semi-autonomous north of the country to optimise its oil production under the guiding hand and investment of Western firms, with no Russian or Chinese firms ultimately left operating there. Conversely, the essential aim of China and Russia in Iraq -- as related by a very senior member of the Russian administration to a senior source who works closely with Iran’s Petroleum Ministry, and then exclusively relayed to OilPrice.com can be summarised as follows: “By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq, the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the West’s final demise.” One of the key reasons why it is important to both sides in the global superpower struggle is its very conservatively estimated 145 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves (nearly 18% of the Middle East’s total, and the fifth biggest on the planet), according to the Energy Information Administration. Unofficially, it is extremely likely that it holds around 215 billion barrels, as fully detailed in my latest book on the new global oil market order. Another is that its geographical location puts it square in the centre of routes from the East to the West, with borders running into Syria (and the Mediterranean Sea) to the west and Turkey to the north. Iraq has also historically acted as a non-sanctioned front for whatever Iran wanted to export into world markets, especially oil that can simply be rebranded as Iraqi oil and sent on.
Where all points meet is in the desire to see Iraq’s oil production reach its full potential, and there is a clear set of guidelines for where this might be. Back in 2012, a confidential report -- the ‘Integrated National Energy Strategy’ -- commissioned by then-Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, revealed precisely how Iraq could increase its oil output from just over 3 million bpd at that point to a plateau of 13 million bpd in the ‘High Production’ scenario by 2017. The ‘Medium Production’ scenario plotted a course to a 9 million bpd plateau by 2020, while the ‘Low Production’ scenario planned for 6 million bpd by 2025. All these make the current target of 7 million bpd within three years look eminently achievable. A key element in the plan was to bring in adequate investment from companies with the leading technology, experience, and management able to accomplish continued and sustainable rises in output. Part of these efforts would be focused on field development and then further exploration, and another would be on the primary supporting infrastructure needed to sustain such production rise -- the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP), as also fully analysed in as fully detailed in my latest book. This involves taking seawater from the Persian Gulf and transporting it to oil production facilities to boost pressure at key oil reservoirs and is now a core project being implemented by French energy giant TotalEnergies as one part of its US$27 billion four-pronged programme in Iraq.
On the field development side, it is Western firms once more who have been securing key roles, with last week seeing Iraq’s Basra Oil Company sign a non-disclosure agreement with U.S. energy supermajor Chevron to regulate data exchange for evaluating the supergiant West Qurna 2 oil field, paving the way for future partnership talks following the opening of exclusive negotiations between the two sides over the field in February. The field is one of the world’s largest, with estimated recoverable oil reserves of around 13 billion barrels, accounting for nearly 10% of Iraq’s total recent historical production of around 4 million bpd and about 0.5% of the world’s oil supply. It is apposite to note that Chevron is set to benefit from the U.S.’s sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which made West Qurna 2 an untenable prospect to continue for Russian oil giant Lukoil. A senior source close to Iraq’s Oil Ministry exclusively confirmed to OilPrice.com that the Iraqi government expects the U.S. firm to be able to double West Qurna 2’s output within a relatively short time. This looks highly likely for a company of Chevron’s capabilities, given that Lukoil had secretly long been able to produce a lot more oil from the field than it revealed to Iraq’s Oil Ministry, as also detailed in my latest book.
This is the latest of many similar deals featuring Western firms and taken together they mark a subtle but unmistakable shift in Baghdad’s long?standing strategy of trying to balance Washington and its allies against Beijing and Moscow for maximum leverage. Washington’s tougher line in Iraq, and its pivotal role alongside its allies in changing the political landscape in Syria and Venezuela in the space of just a few months, has pushed Moscow back from the Middle East, and caused Beijing to adopt a more cautious geopolitical posture. That, and Iraq’s increasingly urgent need for help in resuscitating its oil sector in the aftermath of the U.S./Israel war on Iran, may well mean that Baghdad’s luxury of strategic ambiguity has evaporated. If that is the case, then the new prime minister’s visit to Washington this month may mark the moment when Baghdad finally accepts that, after years of double?dealing, it has little choice left but to tilt decisively toward the West.
By Tsvetana Paraskova - Jul 08, 2026, 5:30 AM CDT
Thin tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued early on Wednesday despite the fresh flare-up in the Middle East, but more vessels appear to be reconsidering moving toward the chokepoint after the U.S. and Iran traded new attacks overnight.
At the time of writing, oil prices had spiked 6% on fears of a significant disruption, with Brent futures trading at $78.58 and WTI futures climbing to $74.76.
Six tankers were observed to be either completing or starting to move toward the Strait of Hormuz hours after Iran attacked three vessels in the area on Tuesday, according to tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
A super tanker chartered by ExxonMobil, fully laden with 2 million barrels of crude, cleared the Strait outbound overnight, even after the Iranian attacks on three vessels near the Omani coast.
The Exxon-chartered very large crude carrier (VLCC) was observed to have transited the Strait through a corridor over which Iran claims to have control, according to the data.
But other tankers have exercised more caution and have either made U-turns or have dropped anchor in various areas east and west of the Strait, waiting for additional information about safety and the tensions to ease.
Tanker owners and operators face dilemmas about which route through the Strait of Hormuz they should take. The northern one, closer to the Iranian coast, likely needs approvals from the Iranian authorities to proceed. The southern route hugging the Omani coastline is thought to be protected by the U.S., but it was there that Iran hit three commercial vessels on Tuesday.
Of these, two were carrying energy products: a Marshall Islands-flagged Qatari LNG carrier and a Saudi-owned ULCC, both running dark at the time of attack, according to data from maritime intelligence firm Windward.
Following the attacks, the Joint Maritime Information Center raised the regional threat level for the Strait of Hormuz to “severe”.
“Iranian attacks have raised the threat level to SEVERE, with deliberate hostile action likely under current conditions,” UKMTO said on Tuesday, adding that “The recent confirmed incidents highlight that the threat environment remains heightened and warrants extreme vigilance. IRGC hailing and routing pressure continues, particularly for AIS-active vessels.”
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
The German Steel Industry Association (WV Stahl) has warned that the planned cuts to funding for the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF) – the economic plan for which is due to be presented shortly – could have negative consequences for the industry.
The industry association voiced its concerns following the government’s approval of the draft budget for 2027.
Kerstin Maria Rippel, CEO of WV Stahl, noted that the fact that €2.7 billion from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) revenues will be withdrawn from the KTF and channelled into the general budget instead is a warning sign for the sector.
“The planned consolidation of the Climate and Transformation Fund must not lead to the scrapping of measures to reduce energy prices, which the German government has only just begun to implement, as early as next year. On the contrary – funds from emissions trading generated by industrial companies must be channelled back in full to industry. If handled correctly, this will strengthen competitiveness and support the transition to climate neutrality,” she emphasised.
The association believes that if the redistribution of funds becomes a reality, it will nullify the positive measures regarding industrial electricity prices. The grid fee subsidy, electricity price compensation and the price of industrial electricity are indispensable for maintaining Germany’s competitiveness as an industrial region. They must therefore be continued, consolidated and expanded.
Kerstin Maria Rippel pointed out that the ultimate goal remains to keep the cost of electricity for industry at €50/MWh.
It should be noted that on 6 July, the German government approved the draft budget for 2027, increasing investment and defence spending. The reallocation of funds from the Climate and Transformation Fund was also criticised by the Green Party and environmental organisations.
As a reminder, it was reported in June that Germany is investing €565 million in the transition to a circular economy. German steelmakers supported the document, emphasising the need to introduce monitoring of scrap metal exports.
The Australian gold mining company Genesis Minerals has submitted an offer to acquire rival Vault Minerals for 5.6 billion Australian dollars ($3.9 billion). This is reported in the Vault press release.
Vault's board of Directors recognized Genesis' bid as superior to the agreement reached in May with Regis Resources Ltd., which must send a better offer within five business days.
Upon completion of the proposed transaction, Genesis shareholders will receive 60% of the combined company's shares, while Vault investors will receive 40%. The deal includes the Vault King of the Hills project near the Genesis production facilities.
The deal aims to create a combined mining company with a total value of 13 billion Australian dollars ($9.02 billion) with a broad presence in Western Australia, including five large mines and a common infrastructure. The company can become one of the largest gold mining companies in Australia by market capitalization with a production volume of 700 thousand ounces per year.
The Genesis offer followed a number of mergers and acquisitions in the Australian gold mining sector, including Northern Star's acquisition of De Grey Mining Ltd., Gold Fields Ltd.'s merger with Gold Road Resources Ltd., and Ramelius Resources Ltd.'s acquisition of Spartan Resources Ltd.
Genesis Minerals is an Australian gold mining company with a focus on increasing mineral resources and establishing autonomous gold mining and processing facilities. The headquarters is located in Perth (Australia).
Vault Minerals is an Australian gold mining company. Vault Minerals is engaged in the development of deposits and the sale of gold and copper in Australia and Canada. The headquarters is located in South Perth (Western Australia).
New Delhi: Adani Enterprises Ltd 's copper unit, Kutch Copper Ltd (KCL), has secured London Metal Exchange (LME) registration for its ' Adani Copper Grade A cathodes, allowing the brand to be delivered against LME copper futures contracts from July 10.
The approval makes Adani Copper an LME Good Delivery brand, placing it among producers whose cathodes meet the exchange's quality and responsible sourcing standards. Warrants for eligible Adani Copper cathodes can be issued from July 10.
"Kutch Copper Ltd (KCL), a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), has earned LME certification for 'Adani Copper'. Approval by the world centre for the trading of industrial metals validates KCL's manufacturing excellence and responsible sourcing practices against strict global benchmarks, enabling Adani Copper cathodes to be delivered with warrants eligible for issuance against LME Copper futures contracts from July 10, 2026," the firm said in a statement.
The certification is a key milestone for Kutch Copper, a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, as it seeks to establish itself in the global refined copper market. The company operates a 500,000-tonnes-per-year copper smelter at Mundra, which it says is one of the world's largest single-location custom copper smelting facilities
"Copper is the backbone of the global energy transition. Achieving LME brand status places Adani among the world's leading copper producers and strengthens India's role in building a resilient, responsible supply chain for this vital metal. Kutch Copper's world-class infrastructure and ESG standards make this recognition both timely and well deserved.
"It will enhance the global acceptance of Adani Copper. Apart from reinforcing India's growing stature in the international metals industry, the registration is a landmark step towards self-reliance in refined copper," said Vinay Prakash, CEO - Natural Resources, Adani Enterprises, and Managing Director of Kutch Copper Ltd.
LME registration requires producers to meet specifications covering chemical composition, shape and weight, along with responsible sourcing requirements. The listing also allows eligible cathodes to be stored in LME-approved warehouses and used against exchange warrants, enhancing their tradability and financing flexibility.
The company said the certification would support India's efforts to reduce reliance on imported refined copper while strengthening its position in the global copper supply chain.
From left to right: Tim Kurth (COO, Aurubis), Christopher Schwieger (state secretary at Hamburg's Ministry for Economy, Labour and Innovation), Boris Schlüter (production employee at Aurubis Hamburg) and Stefan Rouenhoff (parliamentary state secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy).
Aurubis has officially opened its new Complex Recycling Hamburg (CRH) plant at its Hamburg headquarters. The copper producer and multimetal recycler invested €190m in the facility, which will enable it to process larger volumes of more complex recycling materials and smelter intermediates within its own smelter network. Aurubis officially commissioned the plant last Friday following around two-and-a-half years of construction, with COO Tim Kurth joined by representatives of the German federal government and the City of Hamburg.
The new facility combines several smelting processes and is the first to integrate the processing of raw materials containing copper, lead and sulphur in a single unit. Once fully ramped up, CRH will enable the company to treat more than 30,000 tonnes of additional recycling material a year, as well as significantly higher volumes of high-value smelter intermediates. The plant will recover copper, lead and precious metals and produce sulphuric acid. Aurubis said the aim is to retain more materials and value within its smelter network, improve the utilisation of existing assets, and strengthen the resilience of its production operations.
"Global demand for critical raw materials like copper is growing rapidly. So we need better access to recycling materials and more innovation in complex material processing," said Mr Kurth. "With Complex Recycling Hamburg, we're expanding our multimetal expertise and showing how metals can be sustainably and reliably processed in Germany."
The core component of the new plant is a specially engineered converter that separates the individual elements. The unit processed batches of around 45 tonnes each at temperatures of up to 1,400 degrees Celsius.
According to Aurubis, the CRH facility sets a new benchmark in efficient, environmentally friendly multimetal production. Around a third of the project investment was allocated to air pollution control measures. The facility was also designed to be highly automated, enabling very efficient staffing levels, the non-ferrous metals group said.
Hydro Energy and Eviny Fornybar have signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) which secures an annual supply of 0.5 TWh of renewable power in the period from 2031 to 2040.
The agreement secures a total of 5 TWh over the contract period and the power will be delivered in Norwegian electricity price area NO5.
Kari Ekelund Thørud, Executive Vice President of Hydro Energy, said: “Long-term and predictable access to renewable power is crucial for Hydro.
“This agreement with Eviny secures parts of our power demand, and enables us to continue supplying the low-carbon aluminium and solutions from our Norwegian plants that Europe is demanding.”
Based on renewable energy, Hydro can produce aluminium in Norway with a carbon footprint about 75% less than the global average.
Renewable energy is key for Hydro to succeed with its technology roadmap towards zero emissions by 2050.
Sonja Chirico Indrebø, Executive Vice President of Eviny Fornybar, said: “Long-term agreements like this are essential for making major investment decisions in new renewable generation.
“Predictability on both sides ensures that industry gets the power it needs, while enabling us to develop more of the renewable energy Norway will depend on in the years ahead.”
https://aluminiumtoday.com/news/hydro-signs-long-term-renewable-power-contract