The UK’s steel industry has delivered a clear message to the government: no future vision, including the new plan for electric arc furnaces (EAFs), will work without “lower power prices.” This demand from the lobby group UK Steel comes as Business Secretary Peter Kyle backs the green-tech shift for Scunthorpe.
Kyle’s plan, part of a December strategy, aims to secure the future of the state-controlled British Steel plant. He has endorsed EAFs as a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to the site’s current, carbon-heavy blast furnaces.
Frank Aaskov, a director at UK Steel, called this an “encouraging… clear future vision.” However, he immediately warned that the technology is only one part of the solution. EAFs are electricity-intensive, making the industry’s demand for “lower power prices” more critical than ever.
Aaskov also called for “robust trade policies” to protect the industry from the global oversupply and tariffs that the Business Secretary himself acknowledged. The industry needs a “stronger business environment” to survive, regardless of the furnace technology it uses.
This industry demand adds another layer of pressure on the government. It must now find a way to fund the costly EAF transition—with a depleted £2.5bn steel fund—while also tackling the UK’s notoriously high industrial energy costs and navigating a hostile global market.
