Krakow steelworks' hot area to be restarted 'when economically viable,' ArcelorMittal says

ArcelorMittal Poland has denied accusations from local trade union Sierpien 80 that it was abandoning plans to relight blast furnaces in its Krakow plant, saying that operations in the steelworks' hot area will be resumed but "only when it is economically viable," the company's spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Wednesday September 9.

The steelmaker has postponed the restart of the blast furnace (BF) and steelmaking operations in Krakow, originally planned for March 2020, due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a press release published on Wednesday, Sierpien 80 said that it "has received information indicating that the blast furnace... in Krakow will not be launched any more."
The key reason for this was said to be the increasingly suicidal climate policy of the EU, according to the release.
In particular, the trade union criticized the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This allows carbon-emissions permits to be purchased, but it is regularly cited for increasing production costs, which make domestically produced steel uncompetitive against imports which do not face such costs.

ArcelorMittal Poland has denied that suggestion. The BF and the steelmaking equipment in Krakow...

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