The European Commission has adopted new binding Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions for smitheries and foundries, in accordance with the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), with the aim of reducing their environmental and health impact. These updated BAT conclusions will apply to approximately 1,000 ferrous and non-ferrous metal foundries in the EU, and for the first time to 25 smitheries using hammers for the forging processes.
The new rules are aimed at reducing air and water emissions, while encouraging more efficient use of resources in line with circular economy goals. The revised standards aim to improve energy efficiency and rationalise use of resources, such as water and raw materials. Special emphasis is placed on reducing waste generation and substitution of raw materials with hazardous properties or high environmental impact with environmentally acceptable alternatives. These measures further promote decarbonisation in the sector by encouraging the transition to fossil-free energy sources for heating processes.
Industrial installations that are subject to new regulations perform continuous casting activities in ferrous metal foundries for the production of grey or nodular iron castings in their final or near-final shape. New regulations also pertain to non-ferrous metal foundries using alloyed ingots, scrap, recovered products, or liquid metal for the production of castings at or near their final shape.
The revised BAT conclusions are based on an updated reference document on best available techniques (BREF) for ferrous and non-ferrous metal processing installations prepared in broad consultations with industry, competent authorities and civil society organisations. The development and revision of the BREF documents is led by the Joint Research Centre’s European Bureau for Research on Industrial Transformation and Emissions (EU-BRITE), based in Seville, Spain. Existing installations will have four years to comply with the stricter requirements, whereas new installations must meet these standards immediately.
The revised BAT conclusions for this sector were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 6 December 2024. The revised document (SF BREF) is now publicly available and this is the main document for improving environmental protection standards in this sector.