ArcelorMittal’s German mills might soon obtain more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in public subsidies for their transition towards low-emission steelmaking, Kallanish hears.
ArcelorMittal has been on standby for a positive decision on the subsidy, after Germany’s other oxygen-route mills had state aid approved one after the other last year. Subsidies have so far been granted to thyssenkrupp (€2 billion), Salzgitter AG (€1 billion) and Stahl-Holding Saar mills Dillinger and Saarstahl (€2.6 billion).
According to business daily Handelsblatt, an initial tranche of subsidies for ArcelorMittal’s two oxygen-route mills, Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt, could be released in the first quarter of this year. Citing federal government insiders, it writes that the tranche will be between €1 and €1.2 billion. The exact amount is still under discussion between the company, the German government, and the European Commission, the paper writes.
It quotes the vice chairman of union IG Metall, Jürgen Kerner, as saying that an approval is expected “in the coming weeks”. The paper notes that funds for the technical conversion of the steel mills would only be the first part of a bundle of subsidies. It gives the figure of €7 billion that also covers the first years of operation, to cushion higher production costs.
Christian Koehl Germany
