ArcelorMittal, the world's second-largest steelmaker, said on 1-2 September 2022 that it would idle blast furnaces in Europe as energy prices soared. The company planned to shut one of two blast furnaces at Bremen in Germany, a plant with combined capacity of 3.8 million tonnes a year, and a blast furnace at Gijon in Spain, part of a 4.5 million tonne a year plant. Its direct reduction plant in Hamburg was also to close from the fourth quarter. Gas and electricity prices had risen about tenfold in a matter of months, and a new gas levy due in October would add to costs. ArcelorMittal said it would keep the furnaces idle until energy prices stabilised, and other European producers were taking similar steps. The idlings marked the moment the energy crisis moved from a cost problem to a production problem for European steel.
Source: OilPrice — https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Worlds-Second-Largest-Steelmaker-Closes-European-Plant.html
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