Liberty Ostrava, the leading steel producer in the Czech Republic, has reported its strongest annual production levels since its acquisition in July 2019 with production levels of 2.28 million tonnes of liquid steel in 2021, up 33% on 2020 and the highest since 2016.
Support in improvements
The production increases are due to over CZK 2 billion of support in operational and technical improvements implemented under Liberty’s ownership as well as a consistent level of production maintained throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This has allowed Liberty Ostrava to make the most of the last year´s strong demand for steel, with its high production volumes more than mitigating the impact of the huge rise in energy prices.
Investing in green steel programme
Liberty Steel Group plans to invest billions of Czech Korunas in the Liberty Ostrava green steel transformation programme over the course of the next eight years so that is carbon neutral by 2030. The key element of the CN30 programme will be the replacement of the steelwork’s existing four tandem furnaces with two hybrid electric arc furnaces and the building of a new power line, allowing the use of a higher volume of steel scrap and a range of different charge materials, reducing reliance on imported coal and iron ore and significantly reducing CO2 emissions.
Supplier has been chosen
The supplier of the new furnaces has now been chosen with the contract expected to be signed shortly. Aleksandr Ivanov, the Executive Director of Liberty Ostrava, said: “The awaited signature of the contract with the new furnace supplier will be an important step on our green steel transformation journey. We will continue in our efforts to increase our production levels further up to more than 3 million tonnes a year. Last year’s production highlights the tremendous progress we have made in improving our plant’s performance over the last few years and make us confident that we will be able to achieve our CN30 gaols in spite of the difficult situation in the commodity markets.”
Modernisation steel rolling mills
In addition to the modernisation of the steel shop, the transformation will also include an extensive modernisation of the steel rolling mills, which will improve the quality of steel and expand the product portfolio with high added value products. The investment programme will also see the creation of a renewable power plants for electricity production as well as the development of the green steel academy, which aims to upskill the plant’s current workforce and encourage new people into the industry.
