EU supports ArcelorMittal with EUR 75m EIB loan to scale up breakthrough technology to reduce carbon emissions

• EUR 75 m loan for two supported projects (‘Steelanol’ and ‘Torero’), worth EUR 215m in total, which are set to reduce up to 350,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions[i] per year in the first phase.
• CO₂-reduction equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions of a quarter of a million passenger vehicles being driven for one year.[ii]
• EIB investment supported by InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects and financed under Horizon 2020 and the NER 300 funding programme of the European Commission.

The European Investment Bank (EIB), with the support of the European Commission, has granted a EUR 75m loan to ArcelorMittal[i] for the construction of two ground-breaking projects at ArcelorMittal Ghent, Belgium, to considerably reduce carbon emissions by converting waste and by-products into valuable new products, helping to develop low-carbon steelmaking technologies, in line with the EU’s climate objectives.

Details of the projects include:

• Steelanol: a EUR 165m industrial-scale demonstration plant that will capture waste gases[ii] from the blast furnace and biologically convert them into recycled-carbonethanol, the first commercial product of ArcelorMittal’s Carbalyst® family of recycled carbon chemicals. The ethanol produced can be blended for use as a liquid fuel. The technology was developed by LanzaTech, with whom ArcelorMittal has entered a long-term partnership, together with Primetals and E4tech. Once complete, the plant is expected to produce up to 80 million litres of recycled-carbon ethanol a year. The new installation will create up to 500 construction jobs over the next two years and 20 to 30 new permanent direct jobs. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.
• Torero: a EUR 50m large-scale demonstration plant to convert waste wood into bio-coal, partially replacing the coal currently injected into the blast furnace. In the early stage, the Torero plant will be able to convert up to 60,000 tonnes of waste wood into around 40,000 tonnes of bio-coal every year. This volume will be doubled in a second stage of the project, after the start of the first Torero reactor. The new installation will create around 70 external jobs and will create around ten new permanent direct jobs for the operation of this installation. The plant, which is being developed in partnership with Torr-Coal, Renewi, Joanneum Research Centre, Graz University and Chalmers Technical University, is expected to be operational by the end of 2022.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: “Even in the current difficult times, Europe keeps its ambitious climate targets and the EIB, the EU climate bank, is committed to continuing to be a key partner. In particular in the steel industry, it means finding new ways to power machines and processes that are essential for reducing carbon emissions. Thanks to a strong partnership with the European Commission, the EIB is very pleased to support the Steelanol and Torero projects in their efforts to work on more climate friendly and competitive processes.”

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “This EU backed loan will enable us to demonstrate that European steelmaking plants can be competitive while reducing carbon emissions and help us attain our climate goals. More than this, if we invest in European research, education and innovation we can demonstrate the global leadership that can secure and strengthen these industries and the people and communities they support for future generations.”

Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products said: “To date we have committed more than €250 million to developing and testing technology that will help make steelmaking carbon neutral, leveraging our R&D facilities around the world. These two projects are our first large-scale implementations of new breakthrough solutions, as part of our commitment to reduce carbon emissions and transform steel production. With the EIB and European Commission’s support, we can scale up technologies and transition steel to carbon neutrality, and thereby play a significant role in helping Europe achieve its green ambitions.”

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO LanzaTech said: “The European Commission and the EIB continue to play a key role in enabling a new carbon economy for Europe by supporting innovative projects. Chemicals and liquid fuels, especially in the aviation sector, still need a source of carbon, while power generation can and should be fully decarbonised. Carbon recycling gives us a choice as to where the carbon in our products comes from: fresh fossil or reused carbon emissions. Our groundbreaking partnership with ArcelorMittal highlights their continued leadership in helping to create a low carbon economy in Europe.”

ArcelorMittal Europe has committed to reduce CO₂ emissions by 30% by 2030, with a further ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the EU’s Green Deal and the Paris Agreement.

[i] The borrower of the EIB facility is C-shift, a wholly owned subsidiary of ArcelorMittal Belgium, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ArcelorMittal Group.

[ii] The waste gases that result from iron and steelmaking are composed of the same molecular building blocks – carbon and hydrogen – used to produce the vast range of chemical products our society needs. Today most waste gas is incinerated, resulting in CO₂ emissions.