Voestalpine has largely completed installation of a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Donawitz steel plant in Austria, keeping the project on schedule for the start of production in the first half of 2027.
The furnace forms part of the company’s greentec steel programme and will enable the site to produce around 850,000 tons of CO2-reduced steel annually once fully operational. Cold commissioning has begun, with testing underway on electrical systems, hydraulics, cooling circuits, conveyor systems and automation equipment.
The installation involved nearly 900,000 individual components weighing around 8,500 tons in total. More than 70 companies are involved in the project, with around 90pct of them based in Austria. Danieli is coordinating the installation of the furnace’s core components and its initial operation, the company said.
Voestalpine plans to complete major construction and installation work in 2026, ahead of the first melts in the new EAFs at Donawitz and Linz in the first half of 2027.
A further investment is planned at Donawitz by 2030, subject to outstanding funding issues. The expansion would include upgrades to the power supply, a third secondary metallurgy line and improved scrap logistics, enabling the site to transition fully to electrified steel production from 2030.
Headquartered in Austria, Voestalpine is a global steel and technology group operating around 500 companies and locations in more than 50 countries. The company supplies high-value steel products and engineered solutions to the automotive, commercial vehicle, railway, aerospace, energy and machinery sectors.