ArcelorMittal to Invest $1 Billion in New DRI/EAF at Dofasco

The DRI unit is expected to have capacity of 2.2 million tons per year and the EAF annual capacity of 2.65 million tons. The project will also include modifications to Dofasco’s existing EAF and continuous casters, ArcelorMittal said in a press release on Friday, July 30.

The DRI plant and EAF are expected to begin production before the end of 2028. Dofasco will in the meantime “transition away” from integrated steelmaking – and the blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces associated with that route, the company said.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco makes steel via both the EAF and integrated routes. It has two active blast furnaces, according to SMU’s blast furnace status table. It also has an electric arc furnace with capacity of 1.4 million tons per year, per SMU records.

Dofasco will have two EAFs and a DRI unit once the transformation is complete, a company spokeswoman told SMU.

The shift toward more EAF steelmaking is expected to lower Dofasco’s CO2 emissions by approximately 60%, or 3.3 million tons per year, within the next seven years. That’s because the company will no longer need the carbon-intensive coking coal process, and it will also be able to eliminate emissions associated with flaring gases from the coke- and iron-making operations, ArcelorMittal said.

The investment in new DRI-EAF steelmaking at Dofasco is part of ArcelorMittal’s goal to be “net zero” when it comes to carbon emissions by 2050. It also represents the steelmaker’s first big decarbonization project outside of Europe, ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal said.

“The plans we have announced today represent a historic moment for ArcelorMittal in Canada and North America,” he said. “Across the company, our people are highly motivated to demonstrate that steel can reach net zero and will be the core material for a carbon-neutral world.”

ArcelorMittal Dofasco President and CEO Ron Bedard agreed. “The new steelmaking footprint will improve our capability to support the most demanding product segments with advanced high-strength steels, including those used for the emerging electric vehicles in the automotive sector,” he said.

The announcement was made on Friday at the mill with Mittal, Bedard and several high-ranking Canadian government officials in attendance.

“Today’s announcement … is about investing in the low-carbon transformation of Canadian industry, taking serious action in the global fight against climate change, and supporting good middle-class jobs in Hamilton,” said Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Deputy and Minister of Finance.

The investment in decarbonization is the second of its kind in Canada. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier in July announced C$420 million ($340 million) in government support for a new EAF at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. He said at the time that a “major investment” was coming at Dofasco as well.

And ArcelorMittal, in material released with second-quarter earnings data on Thursday, said that a “significant” announcement about decarbonization was coming to North America.

Such investments in decarbonization are part of a global trend, with steelmakers in most major steel-producing areas looking to lower emissions to fend off climate change.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com