For many years, the goal of the Congress has been unchanged. It is a broad, diverse and open forum for debate about the future of both the European and Polish economies. During the thematic sessions, JSW management representatives repeatedly pointed to the importance of coking coal in the energy transition.
“The definition of steel has not changed. To produce it, you need iron ore and coking coal. Currently, there are no other methods of making steel that make economic sense," stressed Adam Rozmus, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board Technical and Operational Matters.
“It is easier to operate if our product is expected by the market. The energy transition requires steel, so we are perfectly in line with environmentally friendly measures by producing coking coal," added Rozmus, while noting the level of production at JSW's mines, which will be different than planned due to, for example, the fires that took place in the Company's mines. Measures have been taken to reorganize the corridor works so that the decline in production is as limited as possible and virtually imperceptible in the years to come.
Adam Rozmus also spoke about pro-environmental activities at Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.
"We are aware of the environmental impact of our operations. This is mainly the question of methane, which is well recognized in JSW. The Company is taking a number of measures to increase methane capture for production of energy, and we are also participating in a number of research projects," said Adam Rozmus.
During the congress, there was no shortage of discussions on critical raw materials, renewable energy sources, the role of mineral resources in the context of the energy transition and technology development, among others. Jolanta Gruszka, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Sales, attended the thematic session on metallurgy in Europe. Among other things, she spoke about industrial demand for coking coal and prospects in the European market and in Poland.
“In light of the climate transition, coking coal and coke are important. New technologies to produce steel without coking coal are at the design and research stage and, in addition to large amounts of money, need time to move into industrial production. The steel sector will continue to be a coking coal-based industry for a long time to come, and is likely to be one of the last to move away from coking coal,” added Jolanta Gruszka, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Sales. She also points out that hydrocarbons are of great importance in the production of synthetic graphite.
“Coking coal, once converted to coke, is also a hydrocarbon product, important in the supply chain for new technologies. Hydrocarbons include tar, an important raw material for the production of, for example, synthetic graphite, which is needed for the production of electrodes in electric furnaces,” said Jolanta Gruszka.
The 16th European Economic Congress is now history. Topics included the most important areas of the economy and development directions. The three-day conference featured more than 180 sessions with 1,200 panelists. In total, nearly 12,000 people attended the event.
