ELECTRIC ARC FURNACES

The company had said in January it would shut down its two blast furnaces in Britain by the end of this year, following its plan to turn around its loss-making UK steelmaking business by switching to lower carbon electric arc furnaces.

Shares of Megatherm Induction listed with a massive premium of 108% earlier this week. Post the debut, the stock jumped further and is currently trading at Rs 252 apiece, up nearly 133% over the issue price.

Megatherm Induction's shares listed with a 108.3% premium on the NSE SME platform, debuting at Rs 220 compared to the issue price of Rs 108. The IPO was a fresh equity issue of Rs 54 crore, funding the construction of factory shed, working capital requirements, and general corporate purposes. Megatherm Induction manufactures induction heating and melting products, including electric arc furnaces for alloys and special steel making industries. They also provide turnkey solutions for steel plants and have a strong presence in the secondary steel sector.

Megatherm Induction's IPO received a strong response from investors, with a subscription rate of 190 times. The company is set to finalize the IPO allotment today. Investors can check the status of the Megatherm Induction IPO allotment on the official website of the registrar, Bigshare Services. In the unlisted market, Megatherm Induction shares are trading at a premium of Rs 135, compared to the issue price of Rs 108.

Tata Steel's CEO, T V Narendran, stated that the company would consider additional future investments in its Port Talbot plant if more government funding was available. The UK government has already approved a 500 million pound package to support the plant, which is facing closure due to high carbon emissions. As part of the restructuring plan, Tata Steel will replace blast furnaces with electric furnaces to reduce carbon emissions, resulting in the loss of 2,800 jobs. Despite this, Narendran expressed willingness to explore greener ways of making steel with available funding.

Tata Steel, one of the leading steel producers, has announced its decision to close down two blast furnaces and other heavy assets in Port Talbot, UK by the end of this year. This unfortunate move is expected to lead to a loss of 2,800 jobs over the course of three years. The company had previously revealed its plans to adopt an electric arc furnace for steel production, a transition that requires a substantial investment of 1.25 billion pounds.

Tata Steel plans to close its blast furnaces in Britain, resulting in up to 2,800 workers losing their jobs at its steelworks plant in Wales. The move comes as part of a plan to switch to lower carbon electric arc furnaces, which is supported by £500 million of government funding. Tata Steel will begin a consultation process and aims to maximize voluntary redundancies. The company employs over 8,000 people in the UK.

In 2030, India's steel demand is projected to reach 190 MT based on a 7 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). "In the best case scenario, it can also reach 230 MT by 2030," the report titled 'India's Steel and Coking Coal Demand 2030' stated.

​Sinha said, India is the world's fourth-largest automobile market, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8-10 per cent over the next 10 years. Moreover, the manufacturing sector saw a Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7-8 per cent and this is driving demand for steel in both the sectors.

Steel makers in India and globally stare at a sharp 30 per cent increase in the production costs to manufacture 'green steel' for meeting their net-zero targets, experts said. Right now, there is no single definite technology for producing 'Green Steel' and whatever is available is based on different production process lines with different timeframes, said steel experts at the Singapore Green Steel Forum on Tuesday.

High energy prices are lashing European industry, forcing factories to cut production quickly and put tens of thousands of employees on furlough. The cutbacks, though expected to be temporary, are raising the risks of a painful recession in Europe.

India has set a target of producing 300 million tonnes by 2030-31 when domestic consumption is expected to be more than 200 million tonnes. Indian mills produced 118 million tonnes of crude steel in 2021.

“There are around 120 sponge iron, billet ingot manufacturers and rollers in West Bengal that have reduced production by 15-50 % and laid off workers, and about 10 units shut down completely in and around Durgapur, Barjora, Mejia and Asansol,” said Vivek Adukia, Chairman, Steel Rerolling Mills Association of India.

The company reported losses for March quarter and for FY21, but foreign brokerage Jefferies felt commodity stocks, like HEG, have entered an upgrade cycle after 2-3 weak years.

After a lacklustre trend in 2020, electrode prices have gained 10-15% in the past two weeks. Electrodes are used in the EAF method of steel production which is less polluting than the conventional blast furnace method.

A spokesperson for Tata Steel Europe told ET the company is in "active discussion with the UK government on several options for the future of Port Talbot operations. This includes potential cooperation and participation from the government to create a sustainable, decarbonised footprint for the future".

Reviving growth calls for spending political capital, to fix the structural problems.

Acero Junction Inc, an integrated steel manufacturing unit with a potential capacity of 3 MTPA (million tonne per annum), is located in Ohio. The proposed investment will be made in two phases.

The new tariff would further increase Rs 1450 crore subsidy estimated to fund subsidized power to industry, a pre-poll promise of state government.

The N-Furnace at Liberty Speciality Steels in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is an electric arc furnace which forms part of a multi-million-pound investment by Guptaa s Liberty House Group.

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) commissioned the country's largest billet caster plant at Angul in Odisha.

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) will commission 2.5 million tonne electric arc furnace at its upcoming Rs 30,000 crore steel mill in Angul, Odisha.