ArcelorMittal will install an electric furnace at its French steelmaking site in Fos-sur-Mer, with the aim to boost production of greener and lower-CO2 steel. At the same time, in Dunkirk, a new 2.5 million tonnes/year capacity direct reduced iron unit will be built to process iron ore using hydrogen to feed two new EAFs, Kallanish learns from ArcelorMittal.
The new equipment will be operational from 2027 and will replace two blast furnaces in Dunkirk and one in Fos-sur-Mer by 2030. At present, ArcelorMittal has three blast furnaces in Dunkirk and two in Fos-sur-Mer.
The French government will support the project with an investment of €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion). ArcelorMittal and the French government have signed a strategic partnership for these investments. The project is subject to the agreement of the EU, which is expected by the second quarter, as well as the availability of economically viable infrastructure and energy supply.
“These investments will make it possible to profoundly transform steel production in France and to achieve a total reduction of nearly 40% of ArcelorMittal’s CO2 emissions by 2030 in France,” ArcelorMittal says.
Natalia Capra France
