ArcelorMittal Poland Is Building A New Heating Plant In Krakow. The Project Is Worth Over PLN 200 Million

The steel company is launching a new investment in Krakow consisting of several projects: the construction of a new boiler room, a waste heat recovery installation that will use heat in a closed circuit, and an electricity substation. Once completed, the plant's natural gas consumption will be reduced and CO₂ emissions will be reduced by 115,000 tonnes per year. The investment fits perfectly into the needs of the Krakow-based ArcelorMittal Poland steelworks, which operates in a different configuration than a few years ago.

Today, the Krakow steelworks consists of two processing plants: the most modern hot rolling mill in Europe and a cold rolling mill with galvanizing and sheet metal painting lines.

"In order for our plants to function effectively, it is necessary to secure them with utilities: electricity, heat and steam from sources perfectly suited to our needs and using waste energy, which we are irretrievably losing today. This means not only the lowest possible production costs for us, but also environmental benefits - reduction of natural gas consumption and CO₂ emissions” explains Łukasz Skorupa, COO of the Flat Products and Quality Division and Director of the Krakow branch of the company.

The new investment will ultimately reduce natural gas consumption by more than 2000 TJ per year and CO₂ emissions by 115,000 tons per year. As part of the project, worth over PLN 200 million, a new boiler room equipped with two natural gas-fired boilers will be built, which will supply the hot rolling mill and the cold rolling mill.

In addition, the heat recovered from the cooling system of the intermediate furnace in the hot rolling mill will be reused in this plant and for the needs of the central heating of the smelter, thanks to a new waste heat recovery unit. Currently, the smelter irretrievably loses about 12 MW of thermal energy from the hot rolling mill. After the completion of the investment, most of the heat will be reused in the Krakow branch of ArcelorMittal Poland.

A new substation with a capacity of 6 kV will also be built, which will be responsible for the distribution of electricity for new and existing installations of the smelter.

"Providing an independent and stable source of heat for our Krakow branch is a priority. We have long emphasized that energy savings are crucial," says Wojciech Koszuta, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland. “We invest in our rolling mills and product development, but the price competitiveness of the plants is no less important, especially in the demanding steel market" he adds.

The entire investment will consume over PLN 200 million and will be put into operation before the end of 2027.

Last year alone, ArcelorMittal Poland invested PLN 100 million in the Krakow branch to launch the production of the new Optigal galvanizing coating and the construction of hydrogen furnaces in the local annealing plant.