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Australia's Labor win may aid low-carbon Fe, Al sectors

  • : Coal, Hydrogen, Metals
  • 25/05/05

The Australian Labor party's victory in the country's 3 May parliamentary election could support low-carbon iron and aluminium developers, providing policy clarity and public capital to the sectors.

Labor's victory provides more certainty around Australia's A$14bn ($9.06bn) green hydrogen subsidy scheme, which will help steel producers transition towards hydrogen-powered steel furnaces. The opposition Coalition during the election pledged to scrap the programme, which will allow producers to claim A$2/t of green hydrogen produced from 2027.

Australian steelmaker NeoSmelt and South Korean steelmaker Posco are developing electric iron smelters in Western Australia (WA) that produce hot-briquetted iron, which is used in the green steel process. Both projects will initially rely on natural gas but may transition to hydrogen-based processing as hydrogen production rises.

Australia's hydrogen tax credits may prove crucial given ongoing hydrogen production challenges. South Australia's state government closed its Office of Hydrogen Power SA on 2 May, following a funding cut earlier this year.

Labor can now also move forward with plans for A$2bn in low-emissions aluminium production credits, beginning in 2028-29.

Smelters will be able to claim credits per tonne of low-carbon aluminium produced, based on their Scope 2 emission reductions. The party's proposal does not include any blanket credit for producers.

Labor's aluminium production credits are aimed at supporting the Australian government's goal of doubling the country's share of renewable power from about 40pc to 82pc by 2030.

Australian producers export about 1.5mn t/yr of aluminium, according to industry body Australian Aluminium Council, from four smelters located around the country.

Green iron funding

Labor's election win also secures its A$1bn lower-emission iron support pledge, first announced in late February.

Half of the fund will go towards restarting and transitioning the 1.2mn t/yr Whyalla steelworks in South Australia into a green steel plant. The other half will support new and existing green iron and steel projects to overcome initial funding barriers.

Labor has not allocated any funding through the programme yet.


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25/06/20

Cop 28 outcome must be implemented in full: Cop 30 head

Cop 28 outcome must be implemented in full: Cop 30 head

London, 20 June (Argus) — The incoming UN Cop 30 summit president Andre Correa do Lago has set out his objectives for the conference in November, placing as a key priority the Cop 28 outcome of trebling renewables capacity and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Correa do Lago today said his plan is to drive "collective action" to tackle climate change, placing a strong emphasis on the global stocktake, the first of which was concluded at Cop 28 in 2023 . That outcome saw almost 200 countries commit to "transition away" from fossil fuels, as well as treble renewables capacity by 2030. The global stocktake, a five-yearly process, sets out progress made towards Paris climate agreement goals. Today's "Action Agenda must drive momentum towards the full implementation of the GST [global stocktake]", Correa do Lago said. The incoming Cop president is focusing on implementing agreements made at previous Cops, and ensuring that countries and all other stakeholders — such as sub-nationals and the private sector — work together to put the decisions into action. Correa do Lago's letter today repeated language from the Cop 28 outcome, and noted his other main themes for Cop 30, which will take place in Belem, in Brazil's Para state, on 10-21 November. As well as shifting energy, industry and transport from fossil fuel-powered to lower- or zero-carbon alternatives, he listed forests, oceans and biodiversity and agriculture and food as key topics. Further topics involved building resilience for cities, infrastructure and water and human and social development. A final priority was enablers and accelerators across the board, including for finance and technology. Correa do Lago said in May that Cop 30 should be a "pivot point" to action on climate change, and "a new era of putting into practice" what has been agreed at previous Cop summits. He has noted a difficult geopolitical situation , which could make talks more challenging. Brazil's Cop 30 presidency is also focused on climate finance at UN climate talks, currently underway in Bonn, Germany. These 'halfway point' discussions serve to cover substantial technical groundwork ahead of political talks at Cop summits each November. Brazil yesterday at Bonn presented a draft of a roadmap to scale up climate finance — from all sources — to $1.3 trillion/year by 2035. The roadmap will not be officially negotiated, although it was a key outcome from Cop 29 in 2024 and is likely to be finalised just ahead of Cop 30 this year. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Eur Cu scrap prices rise on cathode supply squeeze


25/06/20
25/06/20

Eur Cu scrap prices rise on cathode supply squeeze

London, 20 June (Argus) — Millberry copper scrap is trading at the same level in Europe as the London Metal Exchange (LME) copper cash price, as buyers turn to high-grade scrap to replace the limited availability of cathodes that were pre-emptively shipped to the US to avoid potential tariffs under US president Donald Trump. The Argus weekly assessment for Millberry (bare bright) rose to 99.5-100pc of the LME cash price on 17 June, from 98-99.5pc on 9 June. Europe #1 (Berry/Candy) was last assessed at 97.75-98.75pc of the LME cash price and Europe #2 (Birch/Cliff) was at 91-93pc. Millberry is a suitable substitute for copper cathode owing to its high copper content of around 99.95pc, while even Berry/Candy with slightly lower copper content, is also a viable alternative. Birch/Cliff scrap, a more mixed grade, requires more processing and yields lower copper output, but is still being evaluated by some buyers because of limited cathode availability. The price convergence is being driven by copper cathode shortages in Europe after exporters began shifting large volumes of the metal into the US earlier in the year owing to concerns that Trump will impose heavy import duties on the metal. Trump officially ordered a section 232 investigation on 25 February into whether copper imports threaten US national security, encompassing all forms of copper, including raw mined copper, copper concentrate, refined copper, copper alloys, scrap and derivative products. Section 232 is the same basis on which the US applied 25pc tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which it raised to 50pc at the start of the month. Fears that copper could face similar measures spurred exporters to ship material to the US, rapidly draining European and Asian LME warehouses of cathodes. The shift in market behaviour caused LME on-warrant copper stocks to plummet by over 78pc from the start of the year to 54,400t today. Copper prices on the US Comex exchange have surged on the drive to shift metal into US warehouses, pushing the arbitrage between LME and Comex benchmarks to record highs. The arbitrage between Comex spot-month copper and LME cash prices was $868.95/t in favour of Comex on 18 June, down from a peak of $1,862.13/t on 26 March but still easily strong enough to make sellers of Comex-deliverable cathode likely to choose the US option. "Cathode premiums are going up in Europe mainly because of the arbitrage rather than demand, which is not particularly strong," a trader told Argus , referencing that premiums in Europe are at record highs because of critical supply shortages for immediate delivery. The Argus assessment of the delivered Germany copper cathode premium to the LME cash price rose to $270-290/t on 17 June, up by 56pc since mid-March. Offers for cathode were heard at premiums as high as $300/t delivered Germany this week, demonstrating that the shortage is likely to continue to push premiums higher. Sources expect cathode premiums to remain elevated until the Section 232 investigation is officially concluded in late November 2025, which means demand for high-grade scrap will be sustained in the near term. "Because of the lack of cathodes, I have people I haven't heard from in five years come to me asking for scrap," a trader noted, referencing that the current tightness in the cathode market is supporting a higher demand for high-grade copper scrap. Several market participants said they would not be surprised if copper scrap temporarily begins trading at a premium to the LME price in Europe given the scarcity of cathodes. By Roxana Lazar Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

ArcelorMittal halts DRI-EAF projects in the EU


25/06/20
25/06/20

ArcelorMittal halts DRI-EAF projects in the EU

London, 20 June (Argus) — Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal said it will not proceed with previously announced direct-reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) decarbonisation projects at Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt in Germany. The company cited unfavourable policy and slower than expected progress in the energy transition — particularly the lack of commercially viable renewable hydrogen. The company initially planned to supply DRI from Bremen to the EAF in Eisenhuttenstadt after their construction. ArcelorMittal first announced the plans in 2021, projecting that the two sites could produce up to 3.5mn t/yr of steel using renewable hydrogen by 2030. The company initially planned to use natural gas for DRI production in Bremen and gradually switch to renewable hydrogen. But in November last year, the company said it was unable to take final investment decisions on building the DRI-EAF assets in the EU because of challenging energy, policy and market environments that were not moving in a favourable direction. The projects were slated to receive €1.3bn ($1.5bn) in subsidies from the German federal government, contingent on construction beginning by June 2025. Even with that support, the business case remains too weak, ArcelorMittal Europe chief executive Geert van Poelvoorde said. The company has formally notified the government it will not be taking the subsidies. "This decision underlines the scale of the challenge. As it stands, the European steel industry is under unprecedented pressure to stay viable — without factoring in the additional costs required to decarbonise," Poelvoorde said. It remains unclear what the company's decision means for its related partnerships with German utility RWE and US-based Plug Power. ArcelorMittal and RWE announced plans in 2022 to identify locations for electrolysis plants to supply renewable hydrogen to the steelmaker's Bremen and Eisenhuttenstadt sites, starting with a 70MW pilot facility by 2026. In a separate agreement in 2023, Plug Power committed to supply two 5MW electrolysers to utility SWB for ArcelorMittal's green steel feasibility project at Bremen. The company has urged the EU to accelerate enforcement of the carbon border adjustment mechanism, strengthen trade protections and implement the EU Metals Action Plan to restore the competitiveness of low-emissions steel. In May, ArcelorMittal confirmed its intention to invest €1.2bn in a new EAF at its Dunkirk site in France. Market participants suggest the company was delaying its DRI investments in Ghent, Belgium, and Dunkirk, but the steelmaker has yet to comment. The French government in 2023 approved an €850mn grant to ArcelorMittal to decarbonise its Dunkirk asset. ArcelorMittal's move comes as other steelmakers in Germany also reassess their decarbonisation timelines. Thyssenkrupp, for instance, has warned that its planned DRI plant in Duisburg — expected to switch from natural gas to hydrogen — may not be economically viable under current conditions. By Elif Eyuboglu and Akansha Victor Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pertamina buys into Philippine renewables firm


25/06/20
25/06/20

Pertamina buys into Philippine renewables firm

Singapore, 20 June (Argus) — Indonesian state-owned oil and gas producer Pertamina has bought a 20pc stake in Philippine firm Citicore Renewable Energy (CREC) as it looks to expend its presence in the renewables sector. The Indonesian firm's renewable energy (RE) subsidiary, Pertamina NRE, paid $120mn for the stake in a deal signed on 19 June. This is Pertamina's first renewable energy investment in the Philippines. CREC is one of the Philippines' leading renewable energy producers, generating about 287MW peak (MWp) of solar power across the country. The company has 25.7MW of hydropower and 362 MW of wind power projects under development. CREC plans to jointly explore renewable energy investments in Indonesia with Pertamina NRE. The partnership "is a way to elevate our capability in RE development, as well as a big step in accelerating our clean energy goals," said Pertamina NRE chief executive John Anis. The deal comes after the World Bank approved a $2.1bn blended finance package earlier this week to accelerate Indonesia's clean energy investments. The partnership will help strengthen energy co-operation between the two countries, Philippine energy department assistant secretary Mylee Capongcol said The Philippines and Indonesia signed an initial agreement for energy co-operation in 2024, highlighting their joint commitment to the energy transition. "Both Indonesia and the Philippines share common energy concerns, being dependent on coal-fired power plants and seeking an orderly transition to cleaner technologies," Capongcol said. By Angie Liew Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty


25/06/20
25/06/20

Germany plans €17,000/t e-SAF penalty

Hamburg, 20 June (Argus) — Germany is planning to impose penalties of €17,000 for each tonne that fuel suppliers fall short of their hydrogen-based synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) obligations, under a draft bill implementing the EU's revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED III). The draft, seen by Argus , allows for the penalty level to be adjusted in future. The EU's ReFuelEU Aviation legislation mandates e-SAF blending from 2030. Fuel suppliers must ensure that e-SAF makes up at least 1.2pc of their overall aviation fuel supply on average in 2030–31, with a minimum of 0.7pc each year. The share rises to 2pc in 2032, 5pc in 2035 and 35pc by 2050. Member states are required to set penalties at least twice the price difference between e-SAF produced from renewable hydrogen and conventional jet fuel. Reference prices published by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency earlier this year implied minimum penalties of €13,922/t. Germany's proposed €17,000/t penalty would significantly exceed that level. E-SAF can be produced using renewable or non-fossil low-carbon hydrogen, such as hydrogen from nuclear-powered electrolysis. The legislation also permits the direct use of hydrogen in aviation, although this is widely seen as a longer-term prospect. Germany had previously proposed its own national e-SAF quotas but scrapped those plans following the introduction of EU-wide mandates. Most planned e-SAF production facilities in Europe and globally remain in early development stages. Industry participants have repeatedly called for greater regulatory clarity — including on penalties — and additional support to unlock final investment decisions. By Stefan Krumpelmann Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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