Outokumpu verzögert die Wiederinbetriebnahme eines seiner Ferrochromöfen nach einer Wartungspause aufgrund der hohen Strompreise
Helsinki, 6. September 2022: Aufgrund der außergewöhnlich hohen Energiepreise und eines instabilen Energiemarktes hat der Edelstahlhersteller Outokumpu beschlossen, die Wiederinbetriebnahme eines seiner drei Ferrochromöfen nach einer geplanten Wartungspause zu verschieben. Die Wartungspause beginnt am 7. September und die Wiederinbetriebnahme war ursprünglich für Woche 40 geplant. Die Ferrochromproduktion wird mit etwa 70 Prozent der vollen Kapazität fortgesetzt.
"Die Energiepreise sind erheblich gestiegen, was sich negativ auf unsere Kostenwettbewerbsfähigkeit im Vergleich zu unseren außereuropäischen Konkurrenten ausgewirkt hat. Wir hoffen, dass sowohl auf EU- als auch auf nationaler Ebene entschiedene Maßnahmen ergriffen werden, um den Energiemarkt zu stabilisieren. Wir beobachten die Situation sehr genau und hoffen, dass die Politiker eine aktive Rolle bei der Normalisierung der Rahmenbedingungen spielen werden", sagt Martti Sassi, Präsident des Geschäftsbereichs Ferrochrom......
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Outokumpu Oyj Press release
September 6, 2022 at 2.00 pm EET
Outokumpu will delay the restart of one of its ferrochrome furnaces after a maintenance break due to the elevated electricity price – stainless steel deliveries to remain on a normal level
Due to exceptionally high energy prices and an unstable energy market, stainless steel producer Outokumpu has decided to delay the restart of one of its three ferrochrome furnaces after a planned maintenance break. The maintenance break starts on September 7 and restart was initially planned for week 40. Ferrochrome production will continue at about 70 per cent of its full capacity.
“Energy prices have increased significantly, which has had a negative impact on our cost competitiveness compared to our non-European competitors. We hope that decisive actions are taken at both EU and national level to stabilize the energy market. We are keeping a close eye on the situation and hope that politicians will take an active role in normalizing the operating environment,” says Martti Sassi, President, business area Ferrochrome.
“We have already been optimizing our ferrochrome production by not producing ferrochrome at the highest hourly prices to avoid the worst peaks in prices, as communicated earlier*. The decision to delay the reopening of one of our furnaces is a continuation of the ferrochrome production optimization,” Sassi continues.
In Finland, the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant plays an important role in stabilizing the electricity market, and it is vitally important to get it up and running during this year for a healthier energy market. On a European level, Outokumpu uses 4 TWh of electricity, which is close to the entire electricity consumption of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
Stainless steel deliveries on a normal level in the third quarter
Despite the decrease in Outokumpu’s ferrochrome production, the company’s stainless steel production will remain on the same level as guided in our January–June interim report, and these measures will not impact our customer deliveries or financial outlook for the third quarter. We will comment on our outlook for the fourth quarter in connection with Q3 results on November 3.
Ferrochrome is an alloy between chromium and iron and is an essential raw material in the production of stainless steel. Ferrochrome production uses more than 50 per cent of Outokumpu’s total electricity consumption in Finland.
For more information:
Päivi Allenius, VP – Communications & Brand, tel. +358 40 753 7374
Outokumpu media desk, tel. +358 9 421 3840
*) Pia Aaltonen-Forsell, blog 31.8.2022: Energy crisis in Europe – how the rising electricity price impacts Outokumpu, https://www.outokumpu.com/news/2022/blog-energy-crisis-in-europe---how-the-rising-electricity-price-impacts-outokumpu