Steel Mills

ArcelorMittal Awarded $500 Million Subsidy for New Dofasco EAF, DRI Projects

Written by David Schollaert

February 17, 2022

The Ontario government will contribute $500 million ($393 million U.S.) towards ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s $1.8 billion clean tech project to decrease its carbon intensity in steelmaking.

ArcelorMittalThe Hamilton-based steelmaker – a subsidiary of multinational ArcelorMittal SA – is working towards decreasing its greenhouse gas emissions by replacing its coal-fed coke ovens and blast furnaces with hydrogen-enabled electric arc furnace (EAF) and direct-reduced iron (DRI) technology.

The $1.8 billion ($1.42 billion U.S.) project and shift toward more EAF steelmaking – which the company said hinged on support from the Canadian government – will aid the steelmaker in its efforts to lower Dofasco’s CO2 emissions by approximately 60%, or 3.3 million tons per year, within the next seven years.

“Not only is this investment great news for the people of Hamilton, this is great news for people across the province as we take another step towards making Ontario a global innovation hub for building the car of the future,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford. “By investing in innovative technologies, we’re strengthening our economy and protecting good local jobs for Ontario workers.”

The latest pledge by the provincial government is in addition to the $C400 million ($314.8 million U.S.) federal subsidy granted to the steelmaker last July. In total, ArcelorMittal’s Dofasco operation has roughly half of the funds needed to finance its furnace and steelmaking conversion through federal and provincial subsidies

“Reducing ArcelorMittal’s CO2 emissions intensity worldwide by 25% by 2030 is an ambitious target for a steel and mining company, but we believe it is achievable and that it is our responsibility to invent or innovate the processes and technologies that will enable us to reach that goal,” said John Brett, ArcelorMittal North America’s CEO.

The DRI unit is expected to have capacity of 2.2 million tons per year and the new EAF annual capacity of 2.65 million tons. The project will also include modifications to Dofasco’s existing EAF and continuous casters, according to the steelmaker.

Steelmakers in the U.S. have cried foul over the Canadian government’s subsidies, arguing that they amount to unfair trade. 

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

 

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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