NLMK Group, an international steel company with facilities in Russia, the USA and the EU, generated savings of RUB 700 million in 2015 through optimization of energy procurement; and process and auxiliary equipment performance.

A total of 344 initiatives aimed at boosting energy management efficiency were implemented last year. The aim of these initiatives was to increase in-house energy generation and recovery of waste energy; to upgrade lighting systems at Group companies; to reduce vapour and hot water supply system  energy losses; and to reduce equipment downtime.

Large projects included the launch of a 20 MW top-pressure recovery turbine(TRT) for Blast Furnace #7 at the Lipetsk site and air separation unit #17. Among other benefits, these projects increased Novolipetsk’s self-sufficiency in energy from 54% to 57%. Almost 77% of all in-house energy was generated through the recovery of by-product BF and coke gases.

Sergey Chebotarev, NLMK Group Vice President for Energy, said:

“In order to reach the level of best available technologies, in 2015 NLMK Group implemented a set of investment projects and a significant number of cost-efficient optimization initiatives. Key projects in the pipeline include the construction of a TRT for blast furnace #6; improved reliability of the energy supply to BOF shops; replacement of turbogenerator #5; completion of upgrades to bell-type furnaces at Novolipetsk rolling operations; and establishing the energy supply for the Stoilensky pelletizing plant currently under construction.”

Initiatives to boost energy efficiency resulted in a 1% year-on-year improvement in the energy intensity of Novolipetsk products during 2015, to reach 5.66 Gcal per tonne of steel. NLMK Group companies use the level of best available technologies (BAT) as their energy efficiency target. For companies with a similar production chain to NLMK, BAT energy intensity is 5.1 Gcal per tonne of steel. Almost all of the main NLMK Group facilities improved their energy intensity: Stoilensky (from 0.074 to 0.070 Gcal/t), Altai-Koks (from 7.79 to 7.64 Gcal/t), VIZ-Steel (from 8.06 to 7.22 Gcal/t), NLMK Kaluga (from 0.85 to 0.79 Gcal/t.

NLMK Group’s energy management efficiency during 2015 was endorsed by international specialists. Representatives of the British Standards Institute (BSI) confirmed the compliance of the energy management system at Altai-Koks, Stoilensky, VIZ-Steel, NSMMZ, NLMK Metalware, and Novolipetsk with the requirements of the ISO 50001 international standard. Stagdok, Dolomit and NLMK Kaluga also successfully passed their energy management efficiency audits in 2015. Currently, all of the main NLMK Group Russian facilities have valid certificates of compliance with the requirements of the ISO 50001 international standard. This is the result of the Company’s consistent approach to the generation, consumption and use of energy for the production of goods.

About NLMK Group

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world.  NLMK’s metal products are used in various industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and offshore wind turbines.

NLMK's production assets are located in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The Company’s liquid steel production capacity is over 17 million tonnes per year, of which about 16 million tonnes are produced in Russia.

NLMK has the most competitive cash cost among global manufacturers; and one of the highest profitability levels in the sector. The company generated $6.37 billion in revenue; $1.63 billion in EBITDA; and a net profit of $891 million in 9M 2015. Net Debt/EBITDA is 0.5. The company has a BBB- credit rating.

NLMK’s ordinary shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK), and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK:LI).

For more information about NLMK Group, please visit www.nlmk.com