British Steel says 'no final decision' on having two electric arc furnaces in Scunthorpe
British Steel says no final decisions have been made on its future operations, as reports suggest it is abandoning Teesside furnace plans to build entirely in Scunthorpe.
The Financial Times and BBC have reported that the company is now looking to build two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) at its Scunthorpe site. British Steel currently has coke blast furnaces at Scunthorpe.
Under £1.25bn ambitions to decarbonise, the company sought planning permission for an EAF each in Teesside and at Scunthorpe. But, according to The Financial Times, it has abandoned plans to restore steelmaking to Teesside. And Scunthorpe's MP Sir Nic Dakin has told the BBC he is "hopeful" the town will get both electric arc furnaces.
Approached for comment, a British Steel spokesperson said: "We are in ongoing discussions with the government about our decarbonisation plans and the future operations of our UK business. While progress continues, no final decisions have been made."
The Government recently launched an advisory Steel Council to influence its future steel strategy. Membership includes British Steel, Liberty Steel and trade unions.
The Government is also committed to up to £2.5bn National Wealth Fund cash to invest in the industry before the next general election. The talks between British Steel's owners Jingye Group and the Government are over the level of support package to assist its plans to make greener steel.
"It rings true to me, it's up to the company to confirm or deny that," said Sir Nic to BBC Look North, of the prospect of both EAFs being at Scunthorpe. "I'm quietly hopeful, but there's still some hard work to do," he added.
Teesside Mayor Ben Houchen has, in contrast, struck a downbeat tone. "Clearly there has been collusion by the Labour government and unions for it not to come to Teesside," he claimed to The Financial Times.
As mentioned, planning permission was sought for one EAF in Scunthorpe, and it was narrowly approved by councillors. North Lincolnshire Council's planning portal has not yet published the issuing of permission. It was subject to input from Natural England on wildlife habitat, and an S106 agreement on the decommissioning of the blast furnaces.
At the council planning meeting that decided on it, British Steel representatives made clear the EAF steelmaking process will involve fewer jobs than the current blast furnaces.
At the time of writing, no planning application had been published for permission for a second EAF at Scunthorpe.