BIR stainless steel panel takes shape

Markus Moll, managing director of Austria-based SMR GmbH and a frequent speaker at industry events, is among the panelists at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Stainless Steel & Special Alloys session in Amsterdam in May.

BIR Stainless Steel & Special Alloys Committee and its Chair Joost van Kleef of Netherlands-based Oryx Stainless BV, says the committee meets at a time of revived fortunes in the stainless scrap sector.

“Last year brought some of the lowest levels of demand for stainless scrap in more than a decade,” the committee says. “So, the improvement in early 2023 came as something of a relief: scrap demand in China was boosted by its price advantage over nickel pig iron; Posco’s major stainless mill in South Korea returned to production after suffering typhoon-related damage; and superalloy manufacturers were considerably more bullish about order prospects.

“Even in previously beleaguered Europe, the mood and utilization rates of mills were lifted by energy costs coming off their peaks and a drop in imports of finished stainless products. But as we head into the second quarter, are the positive vibes still being felt after recent banking shocks and price declines for many London Metal Exchange (LME) metals, including nickel?”

Moll will offer his thoughts on those topics in a presentation titled “Stainless steel: Greater than 2 metric tons per metric ton CO₂  is the problem, and scrap is the solution – or is it?”

Moll is a mechanical engineer, economist and market research specialist with more than 20 years of experience.

Joining Moll on the panel is Frank Pothen, professor of economics at Ernst-Abbe-University Jena of Applied Sciences in Germany and senior research associate of Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW in Germany. His presentation is called “The scrap bonus and stainless steel scrap’s contribution to climate protection.”

Pothen is a professor who for more than 10 years has been conducting applied techno-economic research designed to support the transformation of European industries toward climate neutrality and closed material cycles, studying stainless steel recycling and the steel industry as well as global value chains.