British Steel, owned by China's Jingye Group since 2020, has been granted planning permission to build an electric arc furnace at its Scunthorpe headquarters. The company's application was approved on April 30th by North Lincolnshire Council following a consultation period.
British Steel's application to build another electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Teesside site was approved by Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council four weeks ago.
Jingye Group has promised to invest £1.25 billion in transforming British Steel's production process from fossil fuel to greener electricity. However, the Chinese are first looking for subsidies from British taxpayers and guarantees from the UK government.
British Steel's president and chief executive officer, Xijun Cao, stated: "Our owner, Jingye, is committed to the unprecedented investment decarbonisation requires and our desire to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, coupled with challenging market conditions, means it is imperative swift and decisive action is taken to ensure a sustainable future for British Steel.
"Cao added: "We are committed to working with the UK government and need to reach an agreement quickly so we can achieve our ambitious goals, secure thousands of jobs and keep making the steel Britain needs for generations to come.
"Until the Chinese get what they want, British Steel will continue making steel the old-fashioned way. Discussions with the UK government have been ongoing since 2022.
