Kazakhstan-based steelmaker Qarmet, formerly known as ArcelorMittal Temirtau, has announced that it signed an agreement with China-based ACRE Coking & Refractory Engineering Consulting Corporation to install new coke batteries at its Karaganda plant. Two new coke batteries will increase the company’s annual coke capacity to 1.5 million mt and replace the old batteries that have been in use since the 1960s. Construction of the new equipment is expected to begin on June 1, 2025, and the project is scheduled to be operational by 2028.
The project falls within the larger-scale modernization efforts of Qarmet, as a part of the agreement between the Kazakh and Chinese governments to increase the trade between the countries signed in November last year, as previously reported by SteelOrbis.
Vadim Basin, CEO of Qarmet, stated that the construction of new batteries will not only upgrade the technological equipment, but will also significantly improve environmental sustainability and reduce costs.