A development that could stabilize the German structural steel market: The EU Commission has presented a regulatory package that, after months of uncertainty, is intended to open up prospects for the steelworks of ArcelorMittal and Riva in Brandenburg. Both locations have struggled with massive structural challenges in recent quarters – from rising energy costs to the transformation towards low-CO₂ production to competition from subsidized imports.
The package of measures from Brussels focuses on three core areas: First, production facilities that have already invested in decarbonization should benefit from temporary relief on CO₂ certificate costs. Second, the Commission is planning protective measures against dumping imports, particularly for hot-rolled flat products and reinforcing steel. Third, funding is being made available for the conversion to electric arc furnaces and, in the long term, hydrogen-based direct reduction – technologies that are central to the production of green steel.
For the Brandenburg locations, this specifically means: ArcelorMittal operates one of the largest integrated steelworks in eastern Germany in Eisenhüttenstadt with an annual capacity of around 2.5 million tons of crude steel. The plant primarily supplies flat steel for the automotive industry and structural profiles for steel construction. Riva, on the other hand, produces long products such as reinforcing bars according to DIN 488-1 for structural engineering in Brandenburg an der Havel. Both locations have registered short-time work in the past two years and postponed investment decisions.
Planners and building material dealers should closely monitor developments: A stabilization of regional steel production could shorten supply chains and dampen price spikes, which recently reached up to 15% above the long-term average for concrete steel. Furthermore, the availability of structural steel with defined quality criteria in accordance with Eurocode 3 is essential for infrastructure projects and multi-story commercial construction. The article about Italy's lawsuit against ArcelorMittal shows how fragile the economic situation of the group is across Europe.
Whether the EU package is sufficient to make the locations competitive in the long term largely depends on the speed of the transformation. The conversion to electric arc furnaces (EAF) requires investments in the hundreds of millions per plant. In parallel, production capacities for recycled steel scrap – the basis for the EAF route – must be expanded regionally. The coming months will show whether Brussels' measures are sufficient to secure jobs and production volumes in Brandenburg.
