Ostrava, 29th July 2019 – Liberty Ostrava invests nearly half a billion crowns into further reduction of the environmental footprint of its production. Four projects aimed at minimising fugitive emissions will capture tens of tonnes of dust per year. Approximately half the costs will be paid by the European funds through the 136th appeal of the Ministry of Environment within The Operational Programme Environment 2014-2020.

„Although the contribution of steelmaking to air pollution at the regional or local scale is no more significant thanks to its greening up to now, the Ostrava steelworks have prepared additinal projects beyond its duties to further reduce the environmental impact of production. The financial support obtained will enable us to start with the construction as soon as possible,“ says Petr Baranek, Chief Green Officer of Liberty Ostrava.

The investments will include the dedusting of the sinter routes at the northern and southern part of the sinter plant, the dedusting of the reclaimer area where iron ore is handled, and the dedusting of the area of straighteners at the medium and fine section rolling mill. The fabric filters, which capture dust particles PM 10, PM 2,5 and PM 1 with more than 99% efficiency, will be commissioned between 2020-2023.

Since its privatization in 2003 the Ostrava´s steelworks has invested in greening 6 billion crowns from it own resources; another 2 billion crowns from European funds has gone into reducing fugitive emissions of dust beyond legislative requirements.

“Since 2016 year-round we have been operating 12 fabric filter facilities, which focus on the elimination of fugitive emissions. The four new ones will capture another tens of tonnes of these „low“ dust emissions, which will be particularly beneficial in times of adverse disperse conditions, where such dust could worsen the situation beneath the smog layer. The operation and the maintenance of these facilities cost several hundreds of millions of crowns every year,“ adds Baranek.

Liberty Ostrava a.s. is an integrated steel company with a production capacity of 3.6 million tonnes of steel. Currently, it annually produces c. 2.2 million tonnes of steel, which is mainly used in construction, machinery and oil & gas industries. The company is a domestic leader in the manufacture of road barriers and tubes. In addition to the Czech market, it supplies its products to more than 40 countries around the world. Together with its subsidiaries in Ostrava, the company has 6300 employees. The 2018 average monthly income was CZK 39,180. As a result of the above-standard greening, the company manufactures its products with minimum possible environmental footprint. The company is part of Liberty Steel, a global steel and mining business, employing approximately 28,000 people on 6 continents based across more than 200 sites, with rolling steel capacity of more than 18 million tonnes a year, which is part of GFG Alliance.

  News release .pdf

Liberty Ostrava a.s.
Barbora Černá Dvořáková
Head of Communicaions
T +420 595 683 390
M +420 606 774 346
barbora.cerna-dvorakova@libertysteelgroup.com