The Polish government has initiated talks with ArcelorMittal over providing PLN 1 billion ($268.5 million) in state aid for the “modernisation” of a blast furnace at the Dabrowa Gornicza steelworks, local media reports quote Polish lower house of parliament deputy speaker Wlodzimierz Czarzasty as saying.
Talks have started, among other bodies, with the Ministry of Finance on supporting the steel plant, “being aware that it is a private company, but we want to ensure that one of the furnaces is modernised … so that steel production remains and operates in Dabrowa Gornicza,” he is quoted as saying during a press conference on Monday.
Dabrowa Gornicza is ArcelorMittal Poland (AMP)’s flagship steelworks, producing 3-4 million tonnes/year of crude steel. AMP plans to transition the plant away from the blast furnace production route to EAF steelmaking in stages, with long products the first to be produced via EAF. The firm will likely continue to run one BF alongside the initial EAF, taking measures to mitigate its emissions levels.
ArcelorMittal did not reply to Kallanish requests for comment by Tuesday deadline.
Adam Smith Poland
