ArcelorMittal announces €1.7B investment in France backing hydrogen
Fos-sur-Mer site will undergo a first-of-a-kind transformation to decarbonise.
ArcelorMittal, today (4th February), has announced a decarbonisation programme in France, which involves a €1.7 billion investment by 2030 in its Fos-sur-Mer and Dunkirk sites in France.
Jean Castex, the French Prime Minister, also announced support from the French Government for the program. This investment will enable the transformation of steelmaking in France and a total reduction of close to 40% or 7.8 million tonnes/year in ArcelorMittal’s CO2 emissions in France by 2030. It will represent a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing industry in France and put France’s steelmaking industry on the path of the Paris Agreement.
In Fos-sur-Mer, ArcelorMittal will build an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). This new unit will complement the ladle furnace announced last March and is supported by France’s recovery plan, ‘France Relance’. Together these investments will turn Fos-sur-Mer into a reference site for the production of low carbon, circular steel made from recycled steel.
In Dunkirk, ArcelorMittal will build a 2.5 million tonne Direct Reduction of Iron (DRI) unit to transform iron ore using hydrogen instead of coal. This DRI will be coupled with an innovative technology electric furnace and completed by an additional Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Other investments are already underway to continue to increase the proportion of scrap steel used.
The new industrial facilities will be operational starting in 2027 and will gradually replace 3 out of 5 of ArcelorMittal’s blast furnaces in France by 2030 (2 out of 3 in Dunkirk, 1 out of 2 in Fos).
The partnership between ArcelorMittal and the French government for the projects is subject to EU approval, which is anticipated by the second quarter of this year and the availability of economically viable energy infrastructure and supply.
ArcelorMittal will change completely the way it produces steel by:
- Increasing the recycling of steel: one kilo of steel produced by ArcelorMittal in France will soon contain up to 25% recycled steel
- Developing innovative DRI to make steel without coal, with hydrogen
- Capturing residual CO2 for storage or usage (CCU/S)
