BUCHAREST, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Liberty Steel's plant in
the eastern Romanian city of Galati will need five times the
energy supply it uses at present when it becomes carbon neutral
in 2030, a company executive said on Thursday.
The Galati plant plans to produce green steel, or steel made
without using fossil fuels, by upcycling scrap material using
electric arc furnaces powered by renewable energy, a more energy
intensive process.
The plant will use some European Union funds to finance the
transition, Liberty Steel Europe President Ajay Aggarwal said,
adding that a steady energy price policy from Romanian officials
was key.
"We will need four or five times the energy supply that
we're using today."
Romania's government capped power prices for industrial
consumers late last year, part of a wider energy support scheme
that includes partial market regulation until March 2025 to
ensure security of supply.
Liberty Steel will generate 250 megawatts of renewable power
at the Galati plant and will tap other green energy projects
under development in eastern Romania, Aggarwal added.
Liberty Steel, owned by commodities tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, is
part of Gupta's family conglomerate, GFG Alliance, which has
been refinancing its cash-starved businesses in steel, aluminium
and energy after supply chain finance firm Greensill filed for
insolvency in March 2021.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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