February 15 (SeeNews) - Romanian steel pipes manufacturer Artom Steel Tubes will invest over 6 million euro ($6.44 million) this year to accelerate measures to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption, it said on Thursday.
The company is partnering with European suppliers like SMS Spa and Badische Stahl Engineering to implement several initiatives, including upgrading the block heating furnace and streamlining steel production, Artrom said in a press release.
This move comes as the European steel industry faces pressure to shift to green steel production, said Adrian Popescu, board chairman at Artrom Steel Tubes.
“Over the next two years, the metallurgical industry will have to make huge financial efforts to start major technology change projects, despite all the challenges it faces. The European institutions are calling for a shift to zero-emission green steel, replacing coal with natural gas and methane gas with hydrogen from green technologies, as well as the re-engineering of steel flows from iron ore and coal," Popescu said.
The company produces steel for the Slatina pipe plant in Romania at the Resita steelworks, from where it delivers products to Europe, the United States and Asia. The company employs some 2,350 people and has an annual turnover of 2 billion lei ($431.3 million/401.9 million euro), 85% of which comes from exports.
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