Australian Government funding will go towards the installation of a new electric arc furnace at the Liberty Steel plant in Whyalla
The Australian government has agreed to a A$63.2 million ($41.5 million) subsidy to decarbonize the Liberty Steel steel plant in South Australia, owned by steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta. This was reported by Nasdaq .
Liberty Steel will receive funding as part of the Australian government's assistance to two local steel companies to accelerate their transition to low-carbon steel production. The total value of the subsidy is A$200 million, 32% of which is for the Liberty Whyalla factory in South Australia.
“This $200 million investment in the steel industry aims to secure the long-term future of the steel industry in Australia. We want to ensure that products important to our economic future, such as green steel, are manufactured in Australia, but this requires the introduction of innovative technologies and new ways of steel casting that will decarbonise our industry», commented the Minister for Energy. Chris Bowen .
The funds will be used to purchase and commission a new electric arc furnace at the Whyalla steelworks. In addition to the new furnace, Liberty plans to expand its magnetite ore project.
A further A$136.8 million was awarded to Bluescope Steel. The investment will be used to modernize a blast furnace at the Port Kembla steelworks, on the east coast of Australia.
Australia has also committed to providing A$200 million in subsidies to the cement and lime sectors, as well as the aluminum industry.
As we previously reported, in April 2023, Liberty Steel announced the signing of a contract with Italy's Danieli to supply a 160-ton low-carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) to its Wyalusing plant in Australia. The new EAF will increase production capacity from 1 million tonnes to more than 1.5 million tonnes per year. Construction of the furnace is expected to be completed in 2025, replacing the existing coke oven and blast furnace.
