Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal decarbonize steel production in Dunkirk
French company Air Liquide and metallurgical giant ArcelorMittal have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement solutions for the production of low-carbon steel in Dunkirk.
The two companies are joining forces to transform the steelmaking process by developing innovative low-carbon hydrogen solutions and 2 CO capture technologies.
In the context of the Paris Agreement, the European Commission's Green Deal, and in line with Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal's energy commitment, the project will reduce annual CO 2 emissions from ArcelorMittal's Dunkirk steel plants by 2.85 million tons by 2030.
ArcelorMittal is ready to introduce at its Dunkirk site an innovative manufacturing facility combining two steelmaking technologies - DRI and a flux arc furnace - in unprecedented dimensions.
“This project represents a major technological breakthrough and confirms ArcelorMittal's commitment to deep and sustainable transformation of our manufacturing technologies, in line with our goals of reducing CO 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. We look forward to strong support from the French and European authorities to decarbonize the steel industry and hope that this project will receive the support needed to achieve large-scale CO 2 savings, ”said Gert van Poelvoorde, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe.
Air Liquide will support this strategic initiative by massively supplying low-carbon hydrogen and deploying CO 2 capture technologies in Dunkirk, one of Air Liquide's historic industrial pools in France.
The partnership between Air Liquide and ArcelorMittal is the first step towards creating an ecosystem at the forefront of industrial low-carbon hydrogen and CO capture 2 solutions, which will become a source of competitiveness and attractiveness for various players in the industrial and Dunkirk harbor basin.