Trends

• Change from BOF (basic oxygen furnace) to EAF – produced steel on the back of increasing availability of steel scrap, lower CO2 emissions, and energy efficiency and flexibility
• Secondary aluminium has the same mechanical properties as primary aluminium and requires only 5% of energy in the production process

• Befesa provides a valuable service to secondary steel and aluminium production
• Befesa’s customer base is focused on secondary production, as it collects steel dust from EAF plants containing around 20% zinc due to the fact that EAF plants use steel scrap, which is typically galvanised and has a zinc coating
• Befesa to benefit from an increase in the secondary production of steel and aluminium

Trends

• Zinc and aluminium consumption grow with the global GDP
• There are limited natural reserves and cost of extraction is rising

• Befesa’s service addresses resource scarcity, allowing the reuse of existing waste which would otherwise be landfilled. Furthermore, energy costs are higher for ore mining and processing
• Befesa’s operations are on average relatively more cost-efficient as well as having a lower cash cost compared to most mines
• Waste management and recycling is clearly a smaller industry compared to the mining industry, representing an opportunity to grow in the long-term
• Befesa contributes to a circular economy, which would contribute to mitigating this global resource scarcity

Trends

• Recycling is promoted by the respective governments through environmental regulation
• There is a global increase in regulation to avoid landfilling and promote a circular economy and resource preservation

• Befesa offers environmentally friendly alternatives to hazardous landfilling and helps clients to comply with environmental regulation
• Befesa operates in regulated markets. Europe, South Korea, Turkey and the US are already markets where there is strict regulation in place
• Ongoing increase in regulation creates opportunity for Befesa to enter new markets like China
• Today, almost 100% of the annual quantity of zinc-containing EAF dust in Europe is recycled in a waelz process, while the rest is to a large extent landfilled. Yet, on a global scale the figure of landfill is considerably higher although the technology exists to reduce this. Landfilling is the least preferable option in the waste management hierarchy. It can have negative effects on the environment, in particular on surface water, groundwater, soil, air and human health (European Commission). In addition, valuable WOX cannot be recovered. This is a challenge for the environment, and a business opportunity that Befesa can help to meet

Trends

• There is a trend towards lightweight materials in a number of industries, including automotive and aviation
• Aluminium is one of the key materials to achieve a lighter weight and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets

• Befesa produces secondary aluminium and extracts aluminium concentrate; from this structural trend, the demand for its products in end-markets are expected to increase
• An increasing demand and certification needs to ensure the most efficient technology is used: rated as Befesa’s Best Available Technology (BAT)

Trends

• The goal is to use resources to their greatest extent, enabling US$640bn in annual savings by switching to a circular economy on a global scale

• Befesa’s service is a major contribution to the circular economy
• Metal recycling is one of the most significant processes in the circular economy
• At Befesa, the word “residue” is used instead of “waste”, meaning that Befesa believes and strives to give second and multiple lives to products and materials that have been used
• In the Steel Dust Recycling Services segment, Befesa takes hazardous waste containing zinc from EAF steel-manufacturing plants and recovers from them zinc oxides that can be reused to manufacture pure zinc
• In the Aluminium Salt Slags Recycling Services segment, the residues are slags and Befesa extracts aluminium, salt and aluminium oxides
• Without Befesa’s operations, a much higher amount of energy, CO2 emissions and negative environmental impacts would have to be incurred to produce the same amount of zinc, aluminium and industrial salts; and even worse, the second option would be limited since the earth’s resources are finite