ArcelorMittal postpones green steel project in Dunkirk, Ghent investment also in doubt
Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is temporarily postponing its investment project to produce carbon-free (green) steel at its Dunkirk site in northern France. French Industry minister Marc Ferracci made the announcement on Saturday.
The Usine Nouvelle newspaper, which broke the news on Saturday, reported that ArcelorMittal had asked the European Commission for "measures" to protect the European steel industry before embarking on a major investment such as green steel.
In a statement to the AFP news agency, Industry minister Ferracci said the European steel industry is currently in crisis, with demand and prices at historically low levels.
"This context explains ArcelorMittal's decision to postpone its investment in the decarbonisation of its Dunkirk site, which is currently not operating at full capacity," he said.
ArcelorMittal has been asked to comment but has not yet done so.
Belgium's biggest climate investment in doubt
The Dunkirk project would have a price tag of 1.8 billion euros. 850 million of this would come in the form of state aid from the French government. It involves the construction of two electric arc furnaces and a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant, which are needed to produce green steel.
ArcelorMittal wants to make a similar investment at its Ghent site, but this too appears to be in doubt. Several trade union sources reported last week that no final decision has been taken on Belgium's "biggest climate investment ever" and that the construction of the new plants will take place in phases.
The ABVV union was the first to sound the alarm, saying that ArcelorMittal will not build a DRI plant anywhere in Europe in the short term. In France, the CGT union reacted negatively to the Dunkirk news, fearing that ArcelorMittal may eventually have to close the plant altogether.
Minister Ferracci says France and the other European countries are "working together on rules to cope with international competition".
PHOTO © FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
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