Yuriy Ryzhenkov, General Director of Metinvest Group, stated that the company's green transition strategy remains unchanged despite the full-scale war.
He told about this in an interview for PwC, stressing that Ukraine's desire to speed up European integration means the need for an even faster green transition than originally anticipated.
Ryzhenkov noted that the green transition of Metinvest, despite the reality of the war and the loss of capacity in occupied Mariupol, is not secondary.
"Metinvest is not just a Ukrainian company, it is also a European company. Therefore, we must meet the trends and requirements prevailing in Europe. Currently, Ukraine seeks to accelerate its path to EU membership, which means that we will need to make the transition even faster than originally planned," he said.
According to him, the company will continue to implement the green transition strategy, which was formed before the start of a full-scale war. It is implemented at the remaining enterprises. This is how iron ore capacity is converted to high-quality DRI pellet iron ore, which is crucial for sustainable steel production in Europe.
"This is especially important because we don't have enough scrap metal to power electric arc furnaces. By the way, this is critical for Ukrainian metallurgy," emphasized Ryzhenkov.
He added that Mr strategic preservation of the largest possible amount of secondary raw materials, in particular scrap metal, within the country is crucial for the green transition of the industry.
Ryzhenkov also said that in The Kryvyi Rih region, where the company's iron ore mines and metallurgical plants are located, projects potential capacities for the production of DRI and HBI, i.e. hot briquetted iron.
He noted that targeted projects are being developed for metallurgical plants for a significant reduction in carbon emissions in the short and medium term. This is a strategic step towards the gradual elimination of blast furnaces and their replacement with electric arc or melting furnaces.
"This transition will bring us closer to the best practices for reducing CO2 emissions in Europe, which are currently considered the standard for sustainable steel production on the continent," he explained. Ryzhenkov.
Earlier. EcoPolitic wrote, that the Metinvest group announced its intention to produce green steel (DRI-products) at its rebuilt plants in Mariupol and Avdiivka, in Donetsk region, after de-occupation.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, "Metinvest" joined the government's platform regarding the green restoration of the metallurgical sector of Ukraine.
