Marcegaglia has provisionally secured a long-term supply of low-carbon nuclear energy to power its upcoming coil steel production facility in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, Kallanish learns from a company source.
The Italian steel group has signed a letter of intent with French utility EDF for a ten-year supply contract that will cover 50% of the energy requirements for the future site. The agreement, expected to be finalised by the end of the summer, aims to ensure stable, carbon-free, and competitively priced electricity, supporting the group’s decarbonisation strategy and long-term industrial competitiveness in France.
“We are strengthening our commitment to decarbonisation for the benefit of the Group’s entire production. This will allow us to use clean electricity that is carbon-free, stable, available, and competitive. The nuclear option is a key step in achieving climate neutrality targets, especially in sectors like ours that are considered hard to abate,” Antonio and Emma Marcegaglia comment in a joint statement obtained by Kallanish.
Marcegaglia plans to invest over €750 million ($868m) in the Ascometal site in Fos-sur-Mer, acquired in 2024. The project includes increasing electric arc furnace output, building a continuous slab caster, and installing new hot rolling mill. The site is expected to scale up from 150,000 tonnes/year of steel output to 2.1 million tonnes/year, with potential expansion to 2.5mt. Production is scheduled to begin by mid-2028.
“Recognised as a project of major national interest in France, the investment aims to address environmental challenges and develop efficient, sustainable production methods. One of the key conditions for moving forward was both a constructive dialogue with public authorities – including administrative approvals – and access to competitive energy supply,” the company says.
Since last year’s acquisition, Ascometal Fos-sur-Mer has been renamed Marcegaglia Fos-sur-Mer. It will produce hot rolled coil and retain its electric arc furnace. Jacques-Yves Floch, a former manager at ArcelorMittal Dunkirk, has been appointed director of the plant. The site will be transformed with a focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, producing steel from scrap and low-emission direct reduced iron.
Groundbreaking following engineering studies is scheduled at the beginning of next year. The plant currently produces bearings and engineering steels, including ingots, billets and blooms, large-diameter rolled round bars and wire rod. The project has been welcomed by the French government for its intention to produce low-emission steel and create jobs. The public debate on the plant’s transformation is expected to take place between April and September.
Natalia Capra France
