On October 19, the steel plant of Taranto of Acciaierie d’Italia, formerly Ilva, was affected by a stop that involved the three blast furnaces currently in operation (1, 2 and 4) and one of the steel mills (2). There are several problems at the basis of the temporary stop, which in any case did not cause employment consequences. For blast furnaces 1 and 4, it was a question of restoring some gas pipes. The stop for the two plants was simultaneous and lasted about 5-6 hours. Blast furnace 2 is given by trade union sources on the evening of 19 October. The 1, however, would follow on the day of 20 October. For blast furnace 4, on the other hand, technical checks are being carried out following, it seems, thermal changes that have occurred. On the evening of 18 October, the company informed the unions that, due to the continuation of these checks, the restart of blast furnace 4 was postponed. The latter, due to work, had already been stopped for about 60 days before the summer. The shutdown of steel mill 1 is instead due to the inactivity of the upstream blast furnaces. Acciaieria d’Italia said that steel mill 1 will restart when the blast furnaces are back in regular gear. The acronyms Fim, Fiom and Uilm have asked the company to meet.
Giorgetti: estimate up to 1.5 billion for the Dri plant
The ex Ilva case, meanwhile, was at the center of the hearing that the Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, held in the Chamber, in the Productive Activities Committee, on 19 October. In reiterating that the board of Acciaierie d’Italia, a company between ArcelorMittal (private) and Invitalia (public component), is working on the new industrial plan in terms of decarbonisation and environmental sustainability, Giorgetti declared that “the procedure for the construction of a newco with public participation for the construction of the Dri plant in Taranto which is the natural prerequisite for going to the construction of the electric furnace. The industrial plan linked to the agreement of 10 December 2020 – declared the minister – provides for the construction of an electric furnace powered by the pre-reduced, Dri, with a new plant built and managed by a newco with public participation “. «The investments estimated according to the technical choices – continued Giorgetti – vary from 900 million to one and a half billion. Invitalia was commissioned to proceed with the constitution of the newco in order to complete the industrial, economic-financial and environmental feasibility analyzes of the project ».
Financial coverage
“The financial coverage of the investments at the start of the production of the Dri – the minister pointed out – can be ensured to the resources of the Pnrr which allocates 2 billion euros to the investment 3.2: use of hydrogen in hard to abate sectors” . «We asked – Giorgetti announced to the Chamber – to include a fund in the next budget law to support the ecological transition processes of the Italian industrial system. The fund – the minister pointed out – would be managed by the Mise together with the Mite and would be aimed at supporting companies starting from the energy-intensive ones engaged in investments for decarbonisation ». Giorgetti then highlighted the importance of collaboration between private and public partners, given that in May 2022, with a second capital increase, Invitalia will rise to 60 per cent in Acciaierie d’Italia (today it is 38 per cent with vote equal to 50 percent).
The node of the release from seizure systems
«We have urged the private entity, previously the sole manager of the plant, to adopt a different attitude and investment collaboration – Giorgetti noted -. It is not that the public partner puts all the money into it and the private sector somehow expects to enjoy the benefits. It takes an overall effort ». And on the fact that the passage of May 2022 (which Giorgetti hoped to anticipate months ago) “for the purchase of the Ilva company branches in extraordinary administration” is subject to certain conditions including the release from seizure of the Taranto plants, the minister has said: «If we succeed in carrying out an industrial plan path that satisfies the environmental requirements, most likely the sword of Damocles with respect to seizure and non-seizure interventions can be resolved. Otherwise, if the seizure intervenes, the whole operation as such as it was designed, will be canceled ».