05JUN2019 - NEWS - New IMO 2020 regulations expected to have tangible effects on steel industry, says WoodMac

The new IMO 2020 regulations are expected to have some tangible effect on the steel industry. Primarily, increasing freight rates for raw materials such as iron ore and coal as ship owners and operators pass on higher bunker costs. Yet the new regulations may have a further, more unexpected effect on the steel sector, and the nascent electric vehicle battery industry.

Indeed, low sulfur crude oil used to produce needle coke for both graphite electrodes for EAF steelmaking and battery anodes could, in theory, be in short supply. And while China is advancing needle coke capacity using coal tar pitch instead of oil, strict quality requirements mean this substitution could be some way off. With two growing industries – steel and electric vehicles – competing for the same raw materials, could we be heading for a further period of tightness for needle coke?

Published by Editor - www.Livebunkers.com at 05-Jun-2019 03:50:46 [UTC] , contact editor at editor@livebunkers.com