CNGR exits nickel refinery JV with Posco, eyes HKEX listing


Shenzhen-listed battery material firm CNGR Advanced Materials said on 12 February that it will terminate the nickel refinery joint venture with South Korean giant Posco, Kallanish reports.

The decision to end investment in the project comes as CNGR seeks to control foreign investment risks and safeguard investors’ interests, it says. Additionally, the company will start preparations for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

“Since reaching the investment cooperation intention, the company has actively promoted related businesses and maintained continuous communication with the partners,” CNGR explains in the announcement. “However, due to the continuous changes in the electric vehicle market and related industrial environment, the two parties have conducted multiple rounds of investment analysis and demonstration on aspects such as project operation and management costs, resulting in the project still not making substantial progress.”

CNGR notes it will continue to maintain a partnership relationship with Posco, looking to jointly explore cooperation opportunities in the fields of global new energy production capacity layout and technological innovation in the future. Ultimately, the companies would strive to provide high-quality precursor supply.

The nickel refinery project was approved in CNGR’s board meeting in June 2023. The JV project is held by its Hong Kong-based second-tier subsidiary (40%) and Posco Holdings (60%). With a planned investment of around KRW 410 billion ($282 million), the partners sought to produce and sell nickel sulphate using nickel matte. The plant was planned to be located in Pohang, South Korea, with a target production capacity of 50,000 metal nickel tonnes/year. 

It is unclear whether Posco will continue to lead the project without CNGR or with a new partner. Kallanish has contacted the company for comment.

On the dual listing plan, CNGR says it will better serve its dual circulation layout, which includes both domestic and international expansions. 

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An Italian importer of stainless steel coil has had €950,000 ($980,260) of bank accounts frozen by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The company is currently under investigation for potential customs duty evasion.

Two companies are currently facing scrutiny for allegedly providing inaccurate information regarding the origin of their products to the customs agency in Ferrara. In October last year, the companies declared that 110 steel imports were produced in South Korea when their origin was in fact China.

“By doing so, the companies benefited from customs duty exemptions on goods from South Korea, evading the payment of nearly €2.4 million in additional customs duties introduced by the EU’s 2019 anti-dumping regulation. Further inquiries uncovered an additional 60 import operations carried out by one of the companies under investigation, with the same ‘modus operandi’, causing an estimated damage of €950,000 in customs duties,” EPPO reveals in a note seen by Kallanish.

With the current order, the two companies combined now have more than €3.3 million in frozen assets.

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Fabrum opens liquid H2 testing facility at New Zealand Airport


Zero-emissions technology firm Fabrum announced Tuesday it has opened a new liquid hydrogen test facility at Christchurch Airport in New Zealand to test and refine its green hydrogen technologies.

Located at the airport’s 400-hectare Kowhai Park energy precinct, the facility will support the development of liquefiers, gas management systems, and boil-off gas management technologies, Kallanish notes. 

Customers will be able to use the new facility this year, the New Zealand-based company says, while welcoming “like-minded companies” to test their technologies at the site.

“Fabrum is already working with aviation companies globally to develop liquid hydrogen storage systems, and our customers will be among the first to test the performance and reliability of hydrogen technologies and infrastructure,” adds Fabrum’s chief executive Ojas Mahapatra. 

Last year, Fabrum commissioned a liquid hydrogen plant at Australian miner Fortescue’s Christmas Creek mine site in Western Australia. The plant can produce around 350 kilograms/day of liquid hydrogen.

Fabrum executive chair Christopher Boyle adds: “Having liquid hydrogen as an aviation fuel available on-site is vital for the aviation sector, rapidly advancing towards hydrogen-fuelled operations to unlock a zero-emissions future.”

Yet, in a report released last week, Europe's aviation sector downgraded the role of hydrogen-powered aircraft in reducing aviation emissions by 2050 to 6% from the 20% estimated before.

Fabrum and Christchurch Airport are also part of a hydrogen consortium with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), Air New Zealand, Hiringa Energy and Airbus. Yet, giant Airbus confirmed last week it was delaying plans to deliver a hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035.

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EU plans 'firm' countermeasures following US agreement termination


The US imposition of blanket 25% steel import tariffs will also involve the termination effective 12 March of exemption and duty-free quota agreements with trading partners such as Brazil and the EU. The latter says it plans to implement “firm” countermeasures.

The temporary duty exemption for Ukraine will also be terminated from 12 March, Kallanish notes.

The tariffs were announced officially late on Monday.

In a statement, the White House says the “benefits of this temporary [Ukraine] exemption have accrued primarily to producers in EU member countries, which have significantly increased duty-free exports to the US market of steel articles processed from Ukrainian semi-finished steel.”

Since 2021, imports from Ukraine have remained steady at 0.5% of total US imports, while imports from the EU have increased to 14.8%, it adds.

Ukraine has seen its two largest steelworks, Azovstal and Ilyich, taken out of action due to Russia’s invasion. To compensate, main domestic steelmaker Metinvest has been rolling semi-finished steel at its EU facilities in Italy and Bulgaria.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded by saying she “deeply regrets” the US tariff imposition. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered – they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures,” she notes. “The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers.”

European steelmakers’ association Eurofer meanwhile says the EU could lose up to 3.7 million tonnes of steel exports to the US as a result of exemptions and quotas being removed (see separate story). Despite these exemptions, EU steel imports into the US decreased by over 1m t/year, the association adds.

The EU exported 3.413mt of HS chapter 72 iron and steel products – which include scrap – to the US in January-November 2024, exceeding the full-year 2023 total of 3.399mt, according to Eurostat. Except for the Covid and Covid rebound years of 2020 and 2021, annual shipments since 2019 have hovered at around 3.4mt and saw no significant impact from the duty free quota agreement, effective 1 January 2022.

Downstream steel derivative products, except those processed from steel articles that were melted and poured in the US, will also be subject to a 25% import duty in the US. For any derivative article not under chapter 73, the duty will apply only to the steel content of the article. The importer must provide customs with any information necessary to identify the steel content used.

Imports of products such as fabricated structural steel and prestressed concrete strand have increased significantly, eroding the US domestic industry’s customer base, the White House notice claims.

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US president Donald Trump is working to suspend a $5 billion programme launched by his predecessor to support the construction of EV chargers.

Administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program contributed to doubling public EV charging ports to nearly 204,000 between 2020 and 2024. However, the Department of Transportation has now placed NEVI under review and “rescinded” its guidance, according to a memo seen by Kallanish.

The FHWA says it will publish new guidance for public comment “in the spring.” Meanwhile, all state EV infrastructure deployment plans have been suspended, so “no new obligations may occur” under the NEVI programme until the new guidance is published, it adds. 

While states can choose whether to carry on with their existing plans or scrap them, the FHWA will allow the reimbursement of existing obligations “in order to not disrupt current financial commitments.”

As of November, 41 states had released at least their first round of solicitations, with 35 states issuing conditional awards or agreements for over 3,560 fast-charging ports across 890 locations.

“New guidance from the federal highway administration would seem to stop work on many of the contracts that have already been signed, which would mean stopping companies from work they have already started to deliver the charging infrastructure,” comments Shoshana Lew, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation. “This would be unfortunate since rapidly rising EV sales are putting high demand on the current supply of chargers along our vast roadway network.”

“Although the administration cannot terminate the NEVI program, it is delaying the rollout of NEVI funding and creating confusion about infrastructure plans and projects that are already approved or underway,” Josh Cohen, head of policy at EV charging group Switch, writes on LinkedIn. “FHWA should expect to receive significant pushback on this, including legal challenges.”

Last month, a group of 24 states and districts, including Colorado, won a request for a temporary restraining order to unfreeze federal funds, after Trump blocked a series of Biden-era initiatives on his inauguration day.

However, the group filed a motion for preliminary injunction on Friday as the funds were still withheld despite the temporary restraining order.

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EU awaits US tariff confirmation, readies reaction


The European Commission says it has not received any official notification from the US regarding the imposition of tariffs but would react to protect the interests of the EU market from measures it sees as “unjustified”.

US President Donald Trump was quoted as telling reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One that he will announce new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US on Monday, on top of existing metals duties.

Trump slapped Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium in 2018 but later granted several trading partners exemptions, while his successor, Joe Biden, agreed duty-free quotas with the EU and Japan, Kallanish notes.

“The imposition of tariffs would be unlawful and economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated production chains the EU and US established through Transatlantic trade and investment,” the European Commission notes.

The EU exported 3.413 million tonnes of HS chapter 72 iron and steel products to the US in January-November 2024, exceeding the full-year 2023 total of 3.399mt, according to Eurostat. Except for the Covid and Covid rebound years of 2020 and 2021, annual shipments since 2019 have hovered at around 3.4mt and saw no significant impact from the duty free quota agreement, effective 1 January 2022.

The Netherlands and Germany are the most exposed to any potential US tariffs, having shipped 731,217t and 676,459t respectively of the 11-month 2024 tonnage to the US. Romania followed with 349,486t.

In terms of major products, the EU shipped 697,978t of coated flat steel, 568,121t of other alloy flat steel and 226,513t of sections, as well as 279,648t of HS code 7207 semi-finished products in the 11 months.

Most EU steelmakers’ shares dipped on Monday morning following the reports of Trump’s tariff plan, but SSAB’s rose. The Swedish steelmaker has a significant production capacity in the US, which is likely to benefit from any tariffs. In 2018, the firm nevertheless pointed out its US steel production is supplemented with special, high-strength products from Sweden and Finland that are not produced at its US facilities.

ArcelorMittal is meanwhile constructing an electric arc furnace at its US-based Calvert joint venture with Nippon Steel, which will limit the operation’s exposure to any tariffs levied on semi-finished steel imports.

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