Dear Energy, From steel to fertilizer, the EU industry is starting to hold. Melting furnaces shut down in Germany and Spain, paper mills don’t open in Italy

As expected, companies across Europe operate in high-consumption sectors in Energy start at Stop Because production costs now exceed revenues. associations representingsteel industrysubordinate papersubordinate Ceramic Born in glassLabor unions have warned for weeks that without interventions to ease exorbitant bills, a restart in September would have been prohibitive. Now this scenario is materializing, with the obvious risk – given that the energy shock only affects the Old Continent – of favoring Asian and American competitors in the long run as well.

Stop from Holland to Germany The Norwegian Giant Yara fertilizer A new production cut in Europe was announced a week ago. In the same sector, the Lithuanian Achema will also cease its activities, while the Hungarian producer Nitrogen movc I did it already in August. Ditto for the Polish Group Azote. According to research cited by Bloomberg European production capacity for ammonia has now been halved, and that of nitrogen fertilizers by 33%: a picture that could further exacerbate the price increase. food. In the Holland The pauses follow each other in series: after Foundry discontinued zinc From the Nirstar Collectionalso the manufacturer of Aluminium Aldel threw in the towel. petrochemical product Leondel Basil At the moment it is limited to launchingAdditional energy costFrom €160 per ton: Buyers who do not accept this will have their supplies of polyethylene and polypropylene reduced.

Arcelor Metalwhich operates in ItalyPrevious Ilvaannounced in the past two days the closure of blast furnaces At the Spanish factory in Gijon and at the German factory in Bremen. In both, production was already taking place at reduced hours. The high cost of gas and electricity is a heavy burden critical about our competitiveness”, explained the CEO of ArcelorMittal Germany undoubtedly Rainer. In addition, starting in October there will be an additional cost imposed by the federal government. The result: “We are no longer able to compete in a market fueled by 25% of imported products.” In Spain Atlantic irona subsidiary of Ferroglobe, has temporarily halted all blast furnaces at its three plants that produce them in Galicia, Cantabria and Aragon. silicon and manganese alloys.

In Taranto there is no restart, in Terni only one line – And in Taranto? At the moment, unions have announced that the restart of factories has been postponed Afo2 And the steel mill 1. While waiting to understand how long the plant would last – which was supposed to end on August 31 – CEO Lucia Morselli according to USB “given orders to turn off the air conditioning systems on all factory buildings, except for those in the factory buildings. Production plants (a few) Very few of them are still in operation). This decision was made to reduce the cost of electricity.” Meanwhile, producer of rolled steel products in Terni I’m sorry Re-opened after summer break with One line in the hot zone. Steel group plant in Potenza Betney It was postponed for a week. to me EVV, a historic glass producer in San Giovanni Valdarno (Arezzo), the board of directors can decide to suspend production from mid-September until December 31. In Catania, he heads the steel mills alpha xiai Closed for five weeks: Three weeks of solidarity have been added to two weeks of vacation. In Sardinia, zinc and lead production is controlled GlencoreAnd the Waiting for the implementation of energy release measures, The procedure that allows the sale of electricity from renewable sources produced in Italy and purchased by GSE at controlled prices. Minister of Environmental Transformation Stefano Cingolani He announced that they would arrive by mid-September, with a long delay.

Paper mills in difficulty – If many porcelain producers are producing at a loss so as not to lose their orders, paper mills are having great difficulty, slowing down production already before the summer: eco He announced the closure of the Alano (Pescara) office, putting the future of 35 employees at risk. Treviso Group Pro Guest At the moment, the summer vacation has been extended. The announcement arrived on Friday that the Tolentino (Macerata) plant would reopen on Monday, one week behind schedule. “Because of energy and gas prices, we find ourselves today unable to compete with countries like turkey that they Iberian countries which are not affected by significant price increases”, explained CEO Francesco Zago. In Spain, although Ceiling price Launched by the Sanchez government, the competitors do not look good: the group Saica Three out of four plants will close due to rising gas prices.

The allure of trade unions – While awaiting – possibly next Thursday – a new aid decree that companies hope for, unions continue to demand extraordinary action: for the CGIL’s Confederate Secretary Tania Scachetti “We need a Covid-based cash desk, off the regular counter and without the extra payment that a company would normally charge. But we must also think about worker integration, which is already punished by declining purchasing power with persistent inflation.” “There is a risk of catastrophe,” adds the CISL secretary. Giulio Roman “We must work on the legislation behind the price of energy.” Dallah Fayoum with the National Secretary Gianni Venturi They explain that energy-intensive companies face competitors with much lower energy costs such as those in Spain and France and risk losing orders to foreign firms that can offer lower prices. “We have already recorded a decrease in production, plant closures and cigarette use, particularly in the steel industry,” adds Uilm number one, Rocco Palumbella. “We must be ready as always to find solutions with both the employers and with the government to avoid the declared social catastrophe.”