Staff and Wire Reports
French Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced an investment of EUR 1.7 billion into multinational ArcelorMittal’s decarbonisation programme in France. The investment will be used to decarbonize steelmaking at its sites in Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk.
The firm will build an Electric Arc Furnace at its site in Fos-sur-Mer that will complement the ladle furnace supported by the “France Relance” recovery plan. The two investments will convert the Fos-sur-Mer site to produce low-carbon, circular steel, made using recycled steel.
At the Dunkirk site, the firm will set up a 2.5 million-ton Direct Reduction of Iron (DRI) unit to convert iron ore using hydrogen. The DRI will be coupled with an electric furnace and an additional Electric Arc Furnace. Additional investments are underway to increase the proportion of scrap steel used.
The new industrial facilities will be in operation from 2027 and replace 3 out of 5 of ArcelorMittal’s blast furnaces in France by 2030.
Yves Koeberlé, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products said, “As a leader in steelmaking, ArcelorMittal is committed to decarbonising its plants in Europe to serve our industrial customers – automotive, packaging, construction, transport but also solar and wind energy and future networks for hydrogen and CO2 capture. We are grateful for this support from the French State which will enable the major transformation of our sites in Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk which together account for over one-third of ArcelorMittal’s flat steel production in Europe.”
ArcelorMittal Méditerranée CEO Bruno Ribo explained, “Our Fos-sur-Mer site will undergo a first-of-a-kind transformation to decarbonize. Our teams are already implementing a first investment – our ladle furnace – which will increase our production of low carbon steel. We are ready to continue.”
The French operations of the firm have already started working on the second step in their decarbonization programme, which includes the use of carbon capture and storage or utilisation (CCU/S) technologies. The second step will enable the operations to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
ArcelorMittal aims to achieve a 35% reduction in CO2 emissions in Europe and 25% worldwide by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. It intends to achieve its target by increasing the recycling of steel, setting up DRI to make steel with hydrogen instead of coal and capturing residual CO2 for usage and storage.
