Kardemir Steel was entitled to receive the “Green transformation in industry” support provided by İzmir Development Agency (İZKA) by ranking in first place. Within the scope of the program, the company will receive comprehensive support in areas such as training, current situation analysis, strategy and roadmap creation, consultancy, and project development.
Özlem Bakırel, Member of the Board of Directors of Kardemir Steel, stated that green transformation has been an important agenda for the company for many years. Bakırel emphasized, “We see sustainability as our corporate responsibility towards future generations beyond environmental necessity. Every step we take, from our R&D investments to our renewable energy projects, and from our energy efficiency applications to our carbon footprint measurements, is shaped in line with this perspective. The support we receive from İZKA will also strengthen our green transformation efforts.”
Bakırel emphasized that they prioritize sustainability in investments as well. Bakırel stated that sustainability-oriented projects have been developed in the R&D Center since 2016 and investments have been made in environmentally friendly production technologies through university-industry collaborations. She stated that the steel mill facility in İzmir Aliağa produces billet iron from scrap using electric arc furnace technology. She stated that waste heat recovery is provided thanks to the 100-ton electric arc furnace with the Fescon system, and energy savings between 15% and 30% are obtained in production.
Bakırel stated that the company has an integrated production infrastructure with a carbon production facility with an annual capacity of 40,000 tons and a high-capacity air separation plant. She stated that the facilities have EIA permits and carbon footprint calculations are performed every year through TÜV Austria. Referring to renewable energy investments, Bakırel emphasized, “Our current renewable energy production power has reached 24.7 MW with our 19.7 MW wind power plant, our 4 MW solar power plant, and our ORC system that provides 1 MW of electricity generation from waste heat.”
Bakırel stated that cost advantages are provided and competitiveness in international markets has increased thanks to environmentally sensitive production systems. She stated that they aim to increase the renewable energy power to a total of 52.1 MW with new solar, wind, and waste heat investments within the scope of sustainable production targets. The company aims to move towards the future with firm steps with its transformation strategy focused on sustainability, digitalization, and efficiency. It isnt expected that this strategic focus will decrease in the upcoming periods.
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