“The market tightened further as European aluminium producers tried to replace Russian aluminium with alternative suppliers”, Moritz Hansen, Head of Marketing & Communication at Speira

In his role as Head of Communication & Marketing at Speira (formerly Hydro Rolling), Moritz Hansen is responsible for communicating with a 360° approach towards internal and external stakeholders including the disciplines of the employee, marketing and crisis communications, as well as media relations. In addition, he is also acting as spokesperson for Speira.

AlCircle: What was the major reason Speira entered into an agreement with Alcoa for the supply of low-carbon EcoLum™ aluminium?

Moritz Hansen: In Speira, we share the passion for reducing the carbon footprint of our products and driving the decarbonisation of our business. We think sustainability is end-to-end, from sourcing through efficient operations to products. The partnership with Alcoa and the decision to purchase EcoLumTM is a natural and important step on this path.

AlCircle: How did you come to acquire Europe's leading aluminium and magnesium scrap recycler Real Alloy?

Moritz Hansen: To clarify, Speira hasn´t completed the acquisition of Real Alloy´s European Business yet. Completion is subject to approval by the European Commission. The acquisition will enhance Speira’s ability to utilize recycled metal in its production and deliver high-quality, low-carbon rolled aluminium products to its customers. Post-completion, Speira will continue to focus on delivering third-party recycling services to existing and new customers of Real Alloy Europe.

AlCircle: Since December 2020, the price of natural gas has increased by nearly 550%. How did it impact Speira’s production cost?

Moritz Hansen: As much as with rising energy prices we are facing rising prices for Gas, which have a significant impact on our cost base. Besides the cost, it is the supply of Gas that is raising concerns. We are using gas in our casthouses and are preparing ourselves for the various scenarios in case of a gas shortage.

AlCircle: How is the disparity between European aluminium demand and production influencing the regional downstream sector? Did the Chinese curb on aluminium production impact your business?

Moritz Hansen: Until some month ago the European aluminium market was very tight. European demand was still good and in parallel capacity was curtailed. The market tightened further as European aluminium producers tried to replace Russian aluminium (e.g. slabs) with alternative suppliers.

Lately, we see lots of metal arriving at ports, partly from China (metal, not semis). We also expect demand to calm down in the summer months and thereafter. Some plants will close for a longer period over the summer than last year. Altogether, this will reduce the metal tightness to some extent.

We believe that Chinese production has been reduced because of the country´s zero-Covid strategy and weaker demand overall in China. This is affecting our business indirectly as our customers face less export demand from China. The so-far increased imports from China to Europe were more driven by arbitrage and the suspension of the anti-dumping duties on Chinese imports which we expect to end in July this year.

AlCircle: Could you please share your Outlook for 2022? Kindly detail to us your expansion and investment plans for 2022.

Moritz Hansen: 2022 will be of course driven by the planned acquisition of Real Alloy Europe and its integration into Speira once regulatory clearance is obtained.