ArcelorMittal Poland (AMP) has decided to close the remaining coke battery at its Krakow plant after the hoped-for rebound in steel demand did not materialise.

The firm idled the coke battery last November due mainly to weak demand, but also the narrowed differential between coke and coking coal prices (see Kallanish passim).

The hot idling allowed for the battery to be restarted once market conditions improve, but “unfortunately, that didn’t happen”, says AMP chief executive Wojciech Koszuta. “Keeping a battery hot idled is very costly, mainly due to the cost of the natural gas that we use to fuel the facility. The continued hot idling of the battery in the hope the situation will improve is economically unviable.”

Moreover, decarbonisation plans in various sectors in the coming years will result in the gradual decline of coke demand, the firm adds.

The firm found work at other AMP units for 230 of the affected coke plant employees during the hot idling. The remaining 70 workers that have maintained the coke plant since then will receive offers to transfer to other units.

AMP’s crude steel production sunk to just 3.1 million tonnes in 2023, down 9% on-year. This represents a drop exceeding 2mt over the last five years. Production has been gradually declining following the closure of AMP’s Krakow blast furnace in 2020, weakening European steel demand, imports’ increased share in consumption, and uncompetitive production costs in Europe.

The Krakow plant sources slab from AMP’s flagship Dabrowa Gornicza works to feed its hot and cold rolled coil mills, as well as galvanizing and coil painting lines. It also plans to commission a line for zinc, aluminium and magnesium (ZAM) coil coating in 2025.