Electric arc furnace clears planning hurdle

The new facility is planned for a site at British Steel's Lackenby works near Redcar

British Steel has won planning permission for a new electric arc furnace on Teesside.

The company is seeking to build the facility at its Lackenby site near Redcar, allowing it to use greener methods to produce steel.

Redcar and Cleveland Council granted planning permission for the furnace, associated buildings and infrastructure on Wednesday.

However, it is unclear when it will be built, with detailed designs still to be finalised and approved.

Council leader Alec Brown said he was “over the moon” about the application’s approval and that he wanted to see local people employed on the 19 hectare site rapidly.

The closure of Redcar’s old blast furnace steelworks in 2015 led to the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.

Councillors heard on Wednesday that the construction of the arc furnace would create 250 jobs, while its operation would create several high quality roles in the area.

Fewer workers needed

Unlike blast furnaces, arc furnaces use scrap steel as its raw material which means they are less carbon intensive.

Professor William Gale at the University of Leeds said steel has a “disproportionate” impact on the country's carbon footprint.

“You can’t have a serious plan for decarbonising the UK without doing something about both steel produced and used here and steel imports,” he said.

British Steel is also looking to build an arc furnace in Scunthorpe which is the site of its current blast furnace steelworks.

The two new arc furnaces would replace its blast furnaces in the North Lincolnshire town as part of a £1.25bn decarbonisation plan, British Steel said

But arc furnaces require fewer workers, so it is likely there will be job losses when this transition is made, said Prof Gale.

A spokesperson for the union GMB said: “The steel industry must decarbonise, but jobs must not be sacrificed in the process.”

Following approval of the plans, British Steel’s president Xijun Cao said it was “crucial we now secure the backing of the UK government”, however the firm did not wish to elaborate.

The Department for Business and Trade) said it had offered British Steel a “generous” support package including more than £300m of investment.

“Discussions with the company remain ongoing,” a spokesperson said.