Metinvest Group, part of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Holdings, is expanding its footprint beyond Ukraine. The flagship project is a new steel plant in Piombino, Italy, with an annual capacity of 2.7 million tons. According to CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov, the first output is expected by the end of 2027.
The Piombino Plant: Partnerships and Financing
The project is being carried out through Metinvest Adria, a joint venture with Italian engineering firm Danieli. Metinvest initially committed to 75 percent of the equity – over €500 million. However, as Bloomberg reports, the company is now seeking an additional partner to reduce its share to under €300 million. Metinvest attributes this to risks tied to the ongoing war, the heavy concentration of its operations in Ukraine, bank requirements, and the overall financing structure of the project.
The plant is also designed as a pilot site: technologies tested there are intended for the future reconstruction of Zaporizhstal and Kametstal. The facility will additionally generate demand for output from Ukrainian mining and processing plants. The total cost of the project is estimated at €3.2 billion, with part of the financing expected to come from loans and government grants.
Incident at Ferriera Valsider
Italy is already familiar ground for Metinvest. The group owns two operating plants with a combined capacity of roughly 1.2 million tons per year: Ferriera Valsider near Verona and Metinvest Trametal. In late August 2026, an engine-related breakdown at Ferriera Valsider brought production lines to a complete halt. The company declared force majeure and suspended contract fulfillment. By early September, the plant had resumed hot-rolled coil production, though it continues to withhold new spot offers due to an extensive order backlog.
Digitalization and AI at Existing Facilities
Alongside international expansion, Rinat Akhmetov is investing in the modernization of existing capacity. Zaporizhstal has launched ForgeCheck, an AI-powered tool for slab quality control. The economic impact is estimated at up to $250,000 per year through defect reduction and energy optimization. According to Maksym Balaniuk, head of Metinvest Digital's R&D center, the company has been testing AI solutions since 2021.
Energy and Partnerships
Metinvest is not the only SCM asset operating on the international stage. DTEK, the group's energy company, is developing a partnership with Britain's Octopus Energy through Project RISE – installing rooftop solar panels and battery storage systems at Ukrainian facilities. Interest from British companies in Ukraine's energy sector is growing, and partnerships with UK businesses are becoming a notable component of infrastructure recovery.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated group with operations in Ukraine, EU countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Rinat Akhmetov's diversification across steel, energy, banking, and telecommunications allows the group to maintain resilience even under wartime conditions and to continue large-scale investment projects abroad.
