Turkish Erdemir plans to invest $3.2 billion in reducing emissions

Erdemir, the largest steel producer in Turkiye, plans to invest $3.2 billion to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2030. Reuters reports this with reference to the company’s data.

The company plans to reduce coal consumption by replacing high-carbon raw materials with biomass and natural gas. Erdemir is also building new electric arc furnaces at its facilities in southern and northern Turkey.

The modernization is expected to increase the company’s current steelmaking capacity from 9.5 million tons to 13.5 million tons. This will be facilitated by the construction of new electric arc furnaces, which is scheduled for completion by 2030.

«Erdemir’s overall goal is to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2040 and become carbon neutral by 2050, three years before the country’s target date for carbon neutrality,» Serdar Basoglu, financial director of OYAK Mining Metallurgy, Erdemir’s controlling shareholder, commented.

According to him, the emission reduction plans of the Turkish steel companies Erdemir and Isdemir, controlled by the Turkish charity and pension fund OYAK, envisage financing more than 70% of the required investments with foreign loans.

As GMK Center reported earlier, Erdemir recently announced the completion of the reconstruction of blast furnace No. 2 (Zübeyde) as part of investments aimed at increasing productivity. According to the company, the blast furnace was scheduled to be commissioned on October 29, 2023. The reconstruction of the unit has increased Erdemir’s annual production capacity from 1.625 million tons to 1.775 million tons.