Global steel giant ArcelorMittal has announced that it has started construction of a new facility at its site in Ghent, Belgium, to house a pioneering new installation which will convert carbon-containing gas from its blast furnaces into bioethanol. The investment for the project amounts to €150 million.
According to the company’s statement, the technology in the new gas conversion process was pioneered by Chicago-based carbon recycling company LanzaTech, with whom ArcelorMittal has entered a long-term partnership. The technology licensed by LanzaTech uses microbes that feed on carbon monoxide to produce bioethanol. The bioethanol will be used as transport fuel or potentially in the production of plastics.
This is the first installation of its kind on an industrial scale in Europe and, once complete, annual production of bioethanol at Ghent is expected to reach around 80 million litres, which will yield an annual CO2 saving equivalent to putting 100,000 electrical cars on the road. The new installation will create up to 500 construction jobs over the next two years and 20 to 30 new permanent direct jobs. Commissioning and first production is expected by mid-2020.
"We are excited that, after several years of research and engineering, we are now progressing with the largest project of its kind within the ArcelorMittal group. This is the first application of a viable new business case where re-use of carbon is possible on a large scale. We will achieve significant carbon reduction and we hope that this will lead us to a lower carbon economy," stated Carl De Maré, vice president of Technology Strategy at ArcelorMittal.