Zhongshou Special Steel Starts up Arvedi ESP Plant
Zhongshou Special Steel has produced the first coil from its new Arvedi ESP plant at the company’s facility in Luanzhou, China.
The plant, from Primetals Technologies, is the 11th of its kind to be put into operation and is the most powerful so far.
It is comprised of a 130mm-thick caster, four roughing stands, and five finishing stands.
Zheng Ting Wen, Zhongshou Special Steel Group Chairman: “We have a clear target of holding a position as front runners in green steel production both on the domestic and international markets, while also being able to compete on markets protected by carbon border adjustment (CBAM) restrictions.
“The Arvedi ESP technology and its record-breaking low carbon footprint will be playing a key role for us in achieving this target."
The startup of this plant is a significant milestone in the development of Zhongshou Group’s strategic decision to abandon the conventional blast furnace-LD converter (BOF)-hot-strip mill route in favour of an electric arc furnace (EAF)-based meltshop and endless casting and rolling technologies.
Furthermore, with its zero CO2 emissions, Arvedi ESP technology is the only officially certified solution for carbon-neutral thin-slab casting and rolling.
Paul Pennerstorfer, head of upstream technologies at Primetals, added: “This result, reached in partnership with the Zhongshou team, is very important for Primetals Technologies and further confirms the Arvedi ESP technological leadership as the most competitive, Capex- and Opex-effective, and most green process for the production of hot-rolled band.
“From now on, the Zhongshou team is going to take full advantage of the superior properties of the endless hot-rolled coils (eHRC) produced by the new Arvedi ESP line, that have already proven to be a game changer in the Chinese steel market for hot- and cold-rolled products.”