ArcelorMittal signs letter of intent with Belgian and Flemish governments for €1.1 billion investment in carbon-neutral technologies at Ghent plant in North Sea Port
ArcelorMittal announced that it has signed a letter of intent with the Belgian and Flemish governments to support a €1.1 billion project at the steel company's Ghent facility. It involves the construction of a 2.5 million ton direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and two new electric furnaces. These will work in parallel with the state-of-the-art blast furnace, which has been modified to use waste wood and plastics as an alternative to fossil carbon, according to the company's release.
Instead of coal, a DRI plant uses natural gas and ultimately possibly hydrogen to reduce iron ore. This enables a major reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the production of steel via the blast furnace route. The two electric furnaces will melt the direct reduced iron (DRI) and steel scrap. This will then be transformed into slabs and processed into finished products in the steelworks.
Once the DRI plant and electric furnaces are built, there will be a transition period during which production will gradually shift from blast furnace A to the DRI plant and electric furnaces. After that, blast furnace A will be closed down, having reached the end of its service life. By 2030, this will result in a reduction of approximately 3 million tons in CO2 emissions per year.
Together with other initiatives, ArcelorMittal Belgium will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tons per year by 2030. This corresponds to the greenhouse gas emissions produced by 848,172 cars over the course of one year. In this way, ArcelorMittal Belgium will be making a significant contribution to ArcelorMittal Europe's aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 35% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The support of both the Belgian and Flemish governments for this project is crucial, given the significant costs associated with the transition to carbon-neutral steel production. Approval for the financial aid will also be required from the European Commission.