RCS - Ferrexpo plc - Life Cycle Assessment confirms lower emissions

FerrexpoAnnouncement

22/05/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 3340P  Ferrexpo PLC  22 May 2024

22 May 2024

 

Ferrexpo plc

("Ferrexpo", the "Company" or the "Group")

 

Life Cycle Assessment confirms lower emissions benefits using Ferrexpo DR
pellets

 

Ferrexpo plc (LSE: FXPO), a premium iron ore pellet producer and supplier to
the global steel industry, announces the findings of its Life Cycle Assessment
("LCA"), completed in collaboration with environmental consultants Ricardo Plc
to evaluate the Company's contribution to potential environmental benefits
related to steel production using its direct reduction (DR) pellets. The DR
pellet is a type of iron ore used in steelmaking whereby either natural gas,
electricity (including from clean sources) or hydrogen is used as the means of
converting iron ore to steel, rather than coal, which is used by blast furnace
operators. DR pellets can also be used in the Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen
Furnace ("BF-BOF") route to reduce CO(2) emissions further.

Findings of the LCA show that the Direct Reduced Iron - Electric Arc Furnace
("DRI-EAF") steelmaking process, using Ferrexpo's high-grade premium Direct
Reduction (DR) pellets, offers decarbonisation opportunities for steel
manufacturers with reductions of 37% embodied carbon emissions, compared to
the more traditional sinter-operated BF, in the BF-BOF route of steelmaking.
The associated embodied carbon value of Ferrexpo DR pellets was calculated to
be 172kg CO(2) equivalent per tonne of DR pellets.

Ferrexpo is using this initial LCA to explore how to further reduce its
impacts across a range of environmental issues including water and waste. The
Group is also engaging with its customers on these initiatives, including the
possibility for further LCAs to better understand the impact of its other
premium high grade iron ore products.

Commenting on the emissions benefits of using Ferrexpo's premium high grade DR
pellets, Yaroslavna Blonska, Acting Group Chief Marketing Officer commented:

"As a supplier to the global steel industry, we are aware that our customers,
and end users, want to reduce carbon emissions in steel making. It is pleasing
therefore that the Life Cycle Assessment we completed with Ricardo plc, which
was also independently verified, has determined that when a steel manufacturer
uses Ferrexpo's DR pellets in an electric arc furnace, to produce a tonne of
steel billet, 37% less carbon is emitted compared to traditional steel
production methods. This means that Ferrexpo and Ukraine can play a leading
role in enabling the transition to greener steel, not only today, during a
time of war, but also in the future, when we can return to full capacity, and
contribute meaningfully to the reconstruction of Ukraine."

Background to the LCA

The study compared two distinct production methods for SAE 1006 grade steel: a
DR pellet-Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI")-Electric Arc Furnace ("EAF") route and
a sinter-Blast Furnace ("BF")-Basic Oxygen Furnace ("BOF") method, the latter
being the more traditional steel making route which relies more heavily on
coal and coke usage, rather than natural gas and electricity which can be from
clean sources. The study assessed the embodied carbon impacts of each route
using the Global Warming Potential ("GWP") indicator which reports in terms of
carbon dioxide equivalents (CO(2) equivalent), as well as a range of other
potential environmental impacts.

In terms of the underlying data used for the study, we used historical
activity data from 2021 (the most recent data which was available at the time
of the study) for our mining, beneficiation and pelletisation operations, as
well as collaborating with several iron and steel manufacturers to obtain data
for those stages outside of our control. Where data was not available,
reputable LCA databases were used to gap fill to ensure that all necessary
impact sources were captured. The study was carried out using SimaPro
software, using the widely used ecoinvent database for secondary data, and
complies with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the key underlying standards for LCA.
Furthermore, it was independently critically reviewed and found to be in
accordance with these standards.

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Ferrexpo:

Nick Bias                  n.bias@ferrexpo.ch
                +44 (0)20 7389 8305

+44 (0)7733 177 831

Tavistock:

Jos Simson              ferrexpo@tavistock.co.uk        +44
(0)20 7920 3150

Gareth Tredway
                                +44 (0)7785 974
264

 

 

Notes to Editors:

Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine and
a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE 250 index (ticker
FXPO). The Group produces high-grade iron ore pellets, which are a premium
product for the global steel industry and enable reduced carbon emissions and
increased productivity for steelmakers when the Group's iron ore pellets are
converted into steel, compared to more commonly traded forms of iron ore.
Ferrexpo's operations have been supplying the global steel industry for over
50 years. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Group was
the world's third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry.
The Group has a customer base comprising of premium steel mills around the
world. For further information, please visit www.ferrexpo.com
(http://www.ferrexpo.com/) .

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