ArcelorMittal plans EAF, DRI investments in Canada

ArcelorMittal and the Canadian government announced July 30 a planned C$1.756 billion ($1.41 billion) investment in decarbonization technologies at ArcelorMittal’s Dofasco plant in Hamilton, Ontario, which includes the installation of a new electric arc furnace and direct reduced iron facility.

The investment will reduce annual carbon dioxide emissions at the Dofasco mill by roughly 3 million st, or about 60% of emissions, within the next seven years, ArcelorMittal said.

“This means the Hamilton plant will transition away from the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production route to the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI)-Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) production route, which carries a significantly lower carbon footprint,” the company said.

The planned investment includes a 2 million st/year capacity DRI facility and an EAF facility capable of producing 2.4 million st/year of steel. Modification of the existing EAF facility and continuous casters will also be undertaken to align productivity, quality and energy capabilities between all assets in the new footprint, the company said, with the DRI and EAF expected to be in production before the end of 2028.

Currently the Dofasco facility has three blast furnaces and one EAF. Roughly 4.5 million st of flat-rolled carbon steel shipments come from Dofasco annually, according to the company’s website.

The investment is contingent on support from the governments of Canada and Ontario, the company said.

Canada’s federal government said July 30 it will invest C$400 million in the project, and the company is in discussions with Ontario’s government regarding its support, ArcelorMittal said.

“This is the first significant decarbonization project we have announced outside Europe and again reflects ArcelorMittal’s determination to lead the decarbonization of the steel industry,” ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal said in a statement.

The project is part of the company’s new global groupwide target of 25% reduction in its global carbon emissions intensity by 2030, which was announced July 29.

— Justine Coyne