«Production will stop if Snam is not paid»- Corriere.it

If the backlog to Snam is not paid, supplies will be interrupted and Taranto’s business will be irreparably compromised. Franco Bernab, president of Acciaierie d’Italia (the former Ilva) certainly did not hide behind sentences of circumstance in the hearing of the Senate Industry Commission on decree law 2 of 2023, the so-called – yet another – Ilva decree. went straight, without half measures, referring to the supply of gas that feeds the blast furnaces in the iron and steel plant of Taranto. When Eni decided to terminate the supply contract (due to non-payment of bills, ed) Snam – explained Bernab – intervened on the basis of the rules which provide for the supply of gas by default for the activities for which the supply cannot be interrupted. Hence the extreme conclusion, with no return: If the backlog is not paid to Snam, the supplies will be interrupted and the production activity of the Taranto plant will be irreparably compromised.

The financial crisis and the effects on related industries

A serious financial crisis that Bernab also explained with the exit of the company from the perimeter of the multinational ArcelorMittal. The latter – he explained – effectively provided the financing of the working capital and Adi, which depended on ArcelorMittal for the financing of the working capital, suddenly found itself without the possibility of financing it. In the case of AdI, which has a processing cycle of at least six months, there is a need for a bank structure of at least 1.5 billion. The company cannot be banked, has no access to credit, except to a very limited extent, and does not have a shareholder who financially supports it with the exit of ArcelorMittal because the State cannot intervene except under very specific conditions and legislative instruments for the financial support of the company. But it certainly cannot finance working capital. AdI therefore, Bernab explained again to the Senate, found itself without the possibility of accessing bank credit and had to manage the entire production and commercial process on a cash basis, using the cash generated by the sale to finance above all the purchase of raw materials which must be paid for when the ship is loaded. The cash that the company generates, the one immediately available, must be used for the purchase of raw materials without which the production cycle is interrupted. This is the reason for the suffering of related industries who unfortunately paid very high costs.

Decarbonization in 10 years

And for the future? The decarbonisation plan of the former Ilva of Taranto – concluded Bernab – will last 10 years and in 2032 will lead to the total elimination of climate-altering emissions. The value of the investments is 5.6 billion and foresees 4 phases. The first will improve the sustainability of the hot area with the use of the Dri, the second is the creation of the first electric oven fueled by hydrogen and CO2 capture, the third is the extension of the electrification of the hot area with a second electric oven. There fourth is the transition to only electric furnaces powered first with natural gas and then with green hydrogen. In detail, Bernab recalled that the first phase involves a further significant improvement in the environmental sustainability of the hot area in the period ’23-’25 and the estimated investment of this first phase is over one billion but destined to increase following the inflationary process which has characterized the international economy since 1922. The second phase which consists in the introduction of a first electric furnace fed with pre-reducer and the experimentation of the use of hydrogen as an energy vector in the period ’24-’27 foresees an investment of 2.4 billion. The third phase is the extension of the electrification of the hot area in ’27-’29 with the introduction of a second electric furnace with an expected investment of 1.2 billion. These are all figures which – Bernab remarked again – are destined to increase following the inflation which has occurred in the last year and a half. Finally, the fourth phase is the completion of the electrification of the hot area in the period ’29-’32 and this investment is also expected to be around one billion. The ultimate goal? Bernab recalled that the plants will only be powered with green hydrogen in 2032.