Liberty Dunaújváros receives Chinese support

Liberty's technology partner, CISDI, will receive financial support for the major investment in the Dunaújváros steelworks, for which CISDI Engineering and the Chinese Export and Credit Insurance Company (Sinosure) have concluded a credit insurance agreement in principle.

The agreement covers an amount of 1.3 billion euros and paves the way for the financing of Liberty's three-million-ton annual electric arc furnace facility, i.e. the export and installation of the equipment in Dunaújváros.

It was highlighted in the announcement that the agreement in principle will facilitate the acquisition of the additional subsidies and guarantees on the basis of which the capital structure of the investment will be finalized.

With the commissioning of the new facility, increasingly outdated coal-based steelmaking methods will be replaced with the latest sustainable steelmaking technology. The two new arc furnaces (EAF) with a capacity of 150 tons, together with the modernized secondary metallurgical facility, will be able to recycle steel scrap and directly use reduction iron pellets.

The steel sheets produced in this way will be processed by the hot rolling mill. Compared to the previous technology, the new plant enables direct production CO2 emissions to be reduced by around 80 percent.

The investment package worth 1.3 billion euros includes the modernization of the existing hot rolling mill and galvanizing line, as well as the installation of new production lines that will serve the Hungarian production bases of defense and automotive production.

The announcement coincides with the visit of CISDI representatives to Liberty Dunaújváros. CISDI will continue with the technical and feasibility studies that have already started before finalizing the technical specification for the new ultra-modern steel mill suitable for green steel production.

Thomas Gangl, CEO of Liberty Steel Europe, stated that they have reached an important milestone, which lays the foundation for Liberty's factory in Dunaújváros to become a modern green steel plant at the forefront of sustainable steel production technologies. The project is progressing on schedule, and they continue to work with all stakeholders to effectively implement the project.

Gergely Fábián, the State Secretary responsible for industrial policy and technology at the Ministry of National Economy (NGM) said in the statement: "I am constantly following the progress of the green steel project, which is being developed as a result of the coordinated efforts of the Liberty team and other experts involved in the implementation. Attention is drawn to the investment's national economic justified by its strategic importance".

Hsiao Peng, president of CISDI, emphasized that this is a significant step in the way of decarbonizing and renewing the Dunaújváros steelworks. CISDI's state-of-the-art electric arc furnace will be installed in the plant, which will raise the plant's production capacities of three million tons to world class, with significant savings in CO2 emissions.

On behalf of Sinosure Shanxi, Ho Chegang added in the announcement that the investment is also important because it will also be a demonstration of advanced Chinese technology supporting the carbon dioxide reduction and modernization of the Hungarian steel industry. The joint effort of Liberty Dunaújváros and CISDI underlines the growing cooperation between China and Hungary and shows the huge potential benefits of investing in sustainable steelmaking technologies.

Liberty Steel Group is part of the GFG Alliance, which brings together the global businesses and investments owned by Sanjeev Gupta and his family. The GFG Alliance is built on three industry pillars: Liberty Steel Group, Alvance Aluminum Group and Simec Energy Group. GFG Alliance employs approximately 35,000 people in 30 countries and generates more than 20 billion US dollars in revenue.

Liberty Dunaújváros is part of the Liberty Steel Group, the latter with a global turnover of 11 billion dollars, a total rolling capacity of more than 20 million tons, more than 200 production sites in 13 countries worldwide, and employs about 28 thousand people.

In August of last year, India's Liberty Steel won the tender for new companies owning the equipment needed for the steel production of Dunaújváros, Dunaújváros, which is under liquidation.