The European Commission (EC) has approved German state funding worth €1.3 billion to support global steel giant ArcelorMittal’s plans to partially reduce carbon emissions at its Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt plants in Germany, at which three coal-based blast furnaces and four basic oxygen furnaces producing crude steel are in operation.
With the help of the funding, the company will be able to construct a direct reduction plant and three new electric arc furnaces to replace two of the three blast furnaces and two of the four basic oxygen furnaces. Even though the direct reduction plant in question will be initially powered by natural gas, ArcelorMittal will gradually switch to low-carbon and renewable hydrogen and then solely to renewable hydrogen.
The new plants, which are scheduled to be commissioned in 2026, will have a green crude steel production capacity of 3.8 million mt per year. This production will substitute the same amount of crude steel produced through conventional and more polluting methods. The project is expected to cut carbon emissions by more than 70 million mt over the 16 years of its lifespan. Arcelormittal has also pledged to share its experience and know-how gained through the project with industry and academia.