Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal has confirmed that the government of Ontario and the company together plan to invest a total of C$1.8 billion in decarbonization technologies at ArcelorMittal’s Canadian subsidiary ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s plant in Hamilton, Ontario. The government of Ontario has announced it will invest C$500 million in the project.
The investment will reduce annual carbon emissions at ArcelorMittal’s Hamilton operations by approximately three million mt, which represents approximately 60 percent of emissions. This means the Hamilton plant will transition away from the blast furnace steelmaking production route to the direct reduced iron (DRI)-electric arc furnace (EAF) production route.
The DRI facility will have an annual production capacity of 2.5 million mt and the EAF facility will be capable of producing 2.4 million mt of high-quality steel through its existing secondary metallurgy and secondary casting facilities. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2028, though the company is looking for opportunities to accelerate the project timelines.
Last year, ArcelorMittal announced that the government of Canada and the company planned to invest a total of C$1.76 billion in the plant and the government of Canada announced it would invest C$400 million in the project, as SteelOrbis previously reported.
In addition to Canada, ArcelorMittal has also announced investments in decarbonization technologies in Belgium, France and Spain. Combined investment in the four projects totals US$5.6 billion, with an anticipated carbon emissions reduction totaling 19.5 million mt. These projects sit at the heart of the company’s target to reduce its carbon emissions intensity by 25 percent by 2030 group-wide, and in Europe by 35 percent, by 2030.