NZ Steel has started making some of the world's lowest carbon steel using the new electric arc furnace at its Glenbrook steelworks, 60km south of Auckland CBD, just over 2 years after breaking ground.
New Zealand Steel, the country's sole producer of flat rolled steel products for the infrastructure, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture industries, today announced it has achieved its first commercial steel production from the new electric arc furnace in a move that cuts the steelworks' annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 45% and secures the future of this critical domestic industry.
Robin Davies, Chief Executive Australia and New Zealand, says this is a proud moment that reflects a lot of thought, technology and capability since the project broke ground in June 2024 on this landmark investment.
"The project has exceeded a million hours of construction effort to get us to this point today.
"It marks the beginning of new opportunity as we leverage the full potential of EAF steel production in New Zealand, which includes supporting growth in Auckland and the wider economy through the availability of quality lower carbon steel product for the built environment.
"We've produced the first heat just over 2 years after breaking ground and been able to undertake this significant business transition within a fully operational steelworks, continuing to produce the usual 650,000 tonnes of steel to ensure uninterrupted supply to the domestic sectors that rely on it."
The transition has involved replacing Glenbrook's oxygen steelmaking furnace and two of the four coal fuelled kilns, halving coal use at the site.
"Projects of this scale rely on partnerships and this one is a world-class example of a successful public private investment partnership with the New Zealand government co-investing up to $140m," adds Mr Davies.
Additional project partners include Contact Energy, providing a competitive and innovative supply agreement for the required reliable firmed renewable energy, and long-term scrap steel supply agreements with Sims and GMS diverting hundreds of thousands of tonnes of scrap from export to domestic recycling at Glenbrook.
New Zealand Steel's sister company Pacific Steel will be the first to bring the new lower carbon steel product to market. Later this year, PACIFIC™ will become the new standard: locally produced, proven over decades, and now delivered with significantly lower emissions. PACIFIC DCRB® will go further still, setting a new benchmark for one of the lowest carbon products available for locally made reinforcing steel in New Zealand.
