ArcelorMittal invests 1.3 billion euros in a single Dunkirk chipboard
On February 10, ArcelorMittal announced that it would invest 1.3 billion euros to install new electric arc steel production facilities at its Dunkirk plant, which is scheduled to launch in 2029.
According to the steel manufacturer, the new 2,000-ton electric arc furnace (EDP) will be able to produce steel with "three times less CO2 than in a blast furnace" at 0.6 t CO2e/t and will run on a mixture of scrap and direct reduction cast iron/hot-briquetted cast iron (DRI/HBI), and front cast iron. Half of the investments of 1.3 billion euros will be financed by the state with energy efficiency certificates.
French President Emmanuel Macron attended the announcement on the French site, accompanied by the company's management.
"I am pleased that we are now able to invest 1.3 billion euros in Dunkirk, underscoring our group's long-term commitment in France," CEO Aditya Mittal said in a press statement. "I have to thank President Macron and the French government, who realized very early on what challenges the European steel industry was facing."
Mittal's comments mention the long-standing problems of steel producers related to the competitiveness of the European steel sector in the face of global pressures, which the European Commission is trying to solve through a new policy to support industry and simplify regulation. The policy measures initially proposed by the Commission in last year's steel and metals action plan, such as new long-term measures to protect steel trade, the introduction of a carbon dioxide Emissions Control Mechanism (CBAM), and the upcoming Industrial Acceleration Act (IAA), are designed to better justify the "investment attractiveness" of the industrial sector. Decarburization, typical of European steelmaking, is mainly characterized by the transition from blast furnaces to oxygen converter furnaces (BF - BOF), as well as to the smelting of steel in EDP using scrap and direct reduction cast iron (DRI).
In its press release, ArcelorMittal states that it "highly appreciates the progress made by the European Commission in improving the protection of the European steel industry" and "looks forward to[proposed measures]to restore fair and competitive conditions in the European steel market, ensuring a sustainable future for steel production." within the framework of the European Union".
ArcelorMittal has suspended most of its European decarbonization projects, citing the aforementioned burden on competitiveness, as shown in a recent McCloskey review on global greening.