ArcelorMittal Spain resumes ACB operations for one order

ArcelorMittal tells Kallanish it is temporarily restarting operations at its Acería Compacta de Bizkaia (ACB) plant in Sestao, northern Spain. Production will resume between 11-17 February to fulfil one order. The site produces hot rolled, pickled and oiled coils through the electric arc furnace method.

“We are going to do a short production cycle of six days and then stop ACB again,” says a spokesman. The steelmaker declined to comment on the volume and specification of the coils it will supply, or to disclose its client.

The site was halted last August for maintenance, but the forecast for lower demand has prompted the steelmaker to delay the resumption of activities. There is currently no date for the restart of operations, ArcelorMittal says.

Meanwhile, the Asturian regional government has begun the environmental evaluation of ArcelorMittal’s project for the construction of a 2.3 million tonnes/year green hydrogen-based direct reduced iron unit. The new DRI unit will be the first of its kind in Spain and will feed the company’s Asturias and Sestao steelworks.

In December, the steelmaker received a positive environmental impact statement (EIS) for the installation of a hybrid EAF at its Gijón plant.

Both the DRI unit and EAF are part of ArcelorMittal’s €1 billion ($1.07 billion) investment in Spain. The plan has entered its last pre-execution phase. In January, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition gave a positive evaluation of the project. The final decision on financial support is now up to the European Commission, which must rule within a period of two months.

Todor Kirkov Bulgaria