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Latest market news

Australia backs expanded NeoSmelt green iron group

  • Market: Emissions, Hydrogen, Metals
  • 17/06/25

The Australian government has awarded domestic green iron consortium NeoSmelt — comprising five major metals and energy producers — a A$19.8mn ($13mn) grant to support its development of an electric smelter in Western Australia.

The grant will support the project's A$48.8mn engineering study, Australian climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen said today.

NeoSmelt will make a final investment decision on the project next year. It expects to produce 30,000-40,000 t/yr of low-carbon direct reduction iron at the plant from 2028. The consortium will initially power the site using natural gas, but may later transition to renewable hydrogen.

NeoSmelt includes many of Australia's largest resource producers. Its founding members are Australian metals producers BlueScope Steel and BHP, and UK-Australian metals producer Rio Tinto.

Japanese producer Mitsui and Australian energy producer Woodside Energy joined the consortium today, BlueScope chief executive for Australian steel products Tania Archibald said in a statement announcing the grant.

The Australian government will also support the project through its A$14bn green hydrogen subsidy scheme, which will enable producers to claim tax credits worth A$2/t of low-carbon hydrogen produced from 2027.

It is also supporting other low-carbon iron producers through its A$1bn green iron investment fund, which is designed to support early-stage projects and attract private-sector investment.

By Avinash Govind

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11/07/25

Cercarbono launches ELV recycling carbon methodology

Cercarbono launches ELV recycling carbon methodology

Bangkok, 11 July (Argus) — Global environmental certification standard company Cercarbono announced a world-first methodology for generating carbon credits from end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling at the Asia Climate Summit in Bangkok on 9 July. The methodology establishes the criteria for quantifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from the recovery and recycling of post-consumer materials in formal sector facilities. The methodology covers only post-consumer ELV materials, including metals, plastics and glass, recovered as raw materials that match the quality of virgin materials, the methodology documents show. Projects must comply with Cercarbono's additionality guidelines. It calculates emission reductions as the baseline production from virgin raw materials minus the project's production from recycled materials. Projects must also follow all legal, environmental, labour, health and safety regulations, apply Cercarbono's Safeguarding Principles and report contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using the SDGtool assessment mechanism. Cercarbono and Mumbai-based Meta Materials Circular Market (MMCM) jointly developed the methodology. MMCM specialises in developing a digital ecosystem for the circular economy in the automotive industry. This innovative methodology will enable ELV recycling systems to benefit from carbon pricing, MMCM said. The initiative has the potential to unlock 10bn rupees ($116mn) in carbon funding over the next decade, MMCM chief executive Nitin Chitkara said. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August

11/07/25
News
11/07/25

Trump threatens 35pc tariff on Canada by 1 August

Houston, 10 July (Argus) — The US will impose a 35pc tariff on all imports from Canada effective on 1 August, President Donald Trump said in a letter to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney. The 10 July letter that Trump posted on social media late Thursday noted that Canada previously planned retaliatory tariffs in response to the US' first tariff threats in the spring. He repeated his earliest justification for the tariffs - the illegal smuggling of fentanyl into the US from Canada - and said he would consider "an adjustment" to the tariffs if Canada worked with him to stop that flow. The 35pc tariff would be separate from tariffs set for specific sectors, which include a 50pc tariff on copper imports . It is not clear if any imports currently covered by the US-Mexico- Canada trade agreement (USMCA) would be affected by the new tariff threats. The Trump administration since 5 April has been charging a 10pc extra "Liberation Day" tariff on most imports — energy commodities and critical minerals are exceptions — from nearly every foreign trade partner. Trump on 9 April imposed even higher tariffs on key trading partners, only to delay them the same day until 9 July. On 7 July, Trump signed an executive order further delaying the implementation of higher rates until 12:01am ET (04:01 GMT) on 1 August. Earlier this week he threatened 50pc tariffs against Brazil for its ongoing criminal prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US biofuel support clears way for new crush capacity

10/07/25
News
10/07/25

US biofuel support clears way for new crush capacity

New York, 10 July (Argus) — North American oilseed crushers told Argus that projects to increase processing capacity are on track for the next year, potentially enabling more renewable fuel production. After a difficult start to the year for biofuel producers, US policymakers are increasingly making clear that they want refiners to up their output in future years and rely more on domestic feedstocks like soybean oil. That could pave the way for more oilseed crush capacity to come online, after some facilities delayed or cancelled plans over the last year on stagnant demand. Companies confirmed to Argus that more than 620,000 bu/d of new soybean and canola crush capacity were on track to come online in North America in the next year, and other facilities that did not respond to requests for comment have plans in the coming years too. Greater vegetable oil supply also could at least partly address concerns from oil and biofuel refiners that Republicans' protectionist approach to biofuels threatens feedstock shortages and price spikes. A multi-seed crush facility under construction in Mitchell, South Dakota — which will be able to process up to 96,000 bu/d of soybeans — is scheduled to start up this October, South Dakota Soybean Processors chief executive Tom Kersting told Argus. US crush company Ag Processing similarly said that a new 137,000 bu/d soybean crush plant in David City, Nebraska, will open "later this year". In Canada, Cargill confirmed that a 121,000 bu/d canola processing plant in Regina, Saskatchewan is also on track to open this year. In the first half of next year, French agribusiness Louis Dreyfus said it plans to complete two major projects in North America. The company plans to open a 151,000 bu/d soybean crush plant in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and to double capacity to more than 240,000 bu/d at a canola crush facility in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. US soybean oil futures have climbed by 12pc in the past month on recent policy shifts, providing more incentive for processors — already crushing more soybeans than ever before — to expand production. The US recently proposed record-high biofuel blend mandates for the next two years, projecting that domestic soybean oil production could increase by 250mn USG/yr. And President Donald Trump over the weekend signed legislation that retools a crucial US tax credit to increase subsidies for crop-based fuels. Canadian canola processors, which depend on US incentives because Canada's biofuel sector is far smaller, benefit less from some of these policy shifts. While US fuels made from Canadian feedstocks can still claim the tax incentive next year, the Trump administration has proposed halving credits generated under the biofuel blend mandate for fuels made from foreign feedstocks. That makes US soybean oil a far more attractive input for US refiners than Canadian canola oil. A Canadian farm cooperative earlier this year paused plans for a combined canola crush and renewable diesel plant in Regina, Saskatchewan, citing "regulatory and political uncertainty". And Bunge was vague about its plans for building the world's largest canola crush plant in the same city, which was initially envisioned to start up last year. The US-based agribusiness, which recently took over the project with its acquisition of Viterra, told Argus it was "focused on integration to ensure a smooth transition for our customers" and "may be able to provide an update in the near future". Even then, canola oil stands to benefit from increased demand from food companies if more US soybean oil is diverted to fuel markets. And despite recent struggles for other Canadian biorefineries, ExxonMobil subsidiary Imperial Oil has plans to soon open a 20,000 b/d renewable diesel plant in Alberta that will draw on canola oil. Canadian policymakers have taken steps to assuage local feedstock suppliers and refiners, including a domestic renewable fuel mandate in British Columbia and a proposed mandate in Ontario. Biofuel production and oilseed crush margins also will depend on interactions with other policies, including a temporary tax break through 2026 in the US for small biodiesel producers — historically more reliant on vegetable oils than more versatile renewable diesel plants — as well as low-carbon fuel standards in the US west coast region and Canada. The perennial risk for any company is that policy, especially around biofuels, often swings unexpectedly. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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EU ministers discuss 2035, 2040 climate target setting

10/07/25
News
10/07/25

EU ministers discuss 2035, 2040 climate target setting

Brussels, 10 July (Argus) — The EU needs to set its 2040 climate target and derive its 2035 nationally determined contribution (NDC) — climate plan — to the Paris climate agreement from it, European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra reiterated today. But France and Hungary's environment ministers have suggested focusing on the EU's 2035 climate target first. European climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has repeated the need to first have a "conversation" on setting the bloc's 2040 climate target and only then deriving the EU's 2035 NDC. "That is the way we will approach it," Hoekstra said before an informal meeting of environment and climate ministers in Denmark. This comes after members of the European Parliament rejected the idea of a fast-track procedure for the 2040 target on 9 July . France's environment minister, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, said that the first topic to discuss was the EU's NDC, ahead of the UN Cop 30 climate talks in Belem, Brazil, in November. There is "the question as well of our [2040] objective under the renegotiation of the climate law", she said. Asked about a two-step approach for the setting of the 2040 target and the 2035 goal, Pannier-Runacher said she was "open to all discussions as long as the agenda on competitivity is clear" and goes beyond words. This comes after French president Emmanuel Macron said at the end of last month that setting an EU target for 2040 is not a must for the Belem climate talks. Pannier-Runnacher said that the 2035 target was between 66.5pc, if derived from current efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and 71.5pc, if taking into account the European Commission's proposal to cut GHG emissions by 90pc by 2040 from 1990 levels, accounting for "flexibilities". The commission's proposal includes several flexibilities for the 2040 target, including allowing a "limited" contribution of international carbon credits issued under Article 6 of the Paris agreement to count towards the goal from 2036, and the use of domestic permanent carbon removals in the EU emissions trading system. Hungary's environment state secretary Aniko Raisz said discussions on the NDC and the 2040 climate goal should be separated, because the latter "cannot be rushed" and "the issue won't be finished by the end of September as it needs a "thorough impact assessment". NDCs need to be submitted to the UN by September to be counted in a synthesis report set to ground climate discussions in Belem. Drawing a line between the EU's 2030 and 2050 targets, the 2035 goal for emissions reductions could be over 66pc, Raisz said, adding that NDCs were non-binding commitments. German climate action minister Carsten Schneider did not seem phased by a short timeline to reach an agreement on a 2040 goal and an NDC, which is Berlin's preference. "If the time is long, decisions are postponed," he said. "If Europe is not able to manage that nobody will," he said, citing China, Brazil, India and the US. "We think there's a logic in setting the 2040 target and out of that extracting the 2035 target," Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard Moller said. "That is still the basis for the discussion." Moller chairs meetings of EU climate ministers until the end of December. By Dafydd ab Iago and Caroline Varin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Brazil eyes retaliatory tariffs on US

10/07/25
News
10/07/25

Brazil eyes retaliatory tariffs on US

Rio de Janeiro, 10 July (Argus) — Brazil will consider reciprocal tariffs if US president Donald Trump goes ahead with his threat of a 50pc charge on imports from Brazil, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said. "Any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in accordance with Brazil's economic reciprocity law," Lula posted on social media late on Wednesday. He defended Brazil's sovereignty and said the country "will not accept any form of tutelage". He rebutted Trump's claim that the US has a "very unfair trade relationship with Brazil", pointing to its long-running trade surplus. Brazil has run a trade deficit for goods and services with the US adding up to over $400bn over the last 15 years, finance minister Fernando Haddad said in a televised interview. "This is an eminently political decision, because there is no economic rationale in this measure," he said. The US is Brazil's second-largest trading partner behind China, receiving $40.3bn worth of exports in 2024, according to the Brazilian secretary of foreign trade. It is the main market for Brazilian manufactured goods. The national confederation of industries (CNI), a lobby group, called for negotiations with the Trump government "to preserve the countries' historical trade relationship". A group representing the powerful agribusiness lobby in congress, FPA, also called for diplomatic negotiations. The tariffs can "severely hamper production, investments and supply chains between the two countries," US-Brazilian chamber of commerce Amcham said. The tariffs bring uncertainty to the country's oil and gas sector, Brazil's oil chamber IBP said. Crude is Brazil's main export to the US, accounting for $5.8bn last year. "We are cautiously assessing the true impacts on investments and competitiveness on our industry," IBP said. The Brazilian real slumped against the US dollar in the wake of Trump's announcement, dropping to R5.6/$1 on Thursday morning before rallying slightly. A weaker real increases production costs for Brazilian companies who rely on imports. A letter that Trump sent on Wednesday to Lula is one of the 22 that the US leader has sent to his foreign counterparts since 7 July, announcing new tariff rates that the US will charge on imports from those countries. "I don't think that this situation will continue," Haddad said of the "unsustainable" 50pc levy, highlighting Brazil's diplomatic tradition. By Constance Malleret Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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