Thursday 1 October 2020

ArcelorMittal sets out global commitment to being carbon-neutral by 2050

Steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal has unveiled plans to deliver net zero carbon emissions across its global business by 2050.

The commitment follows the company's European business pledges to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2050.

The firm notes it has identified two low-emissions pathways, both of which it claims have the potential to deliver carbon-neutral steelmaking.

The first is a hydrogen-direct reduced iron (DRI) route, which uses hydrogen as a reducing agent - a demonstration plant in Hamburg, where ArcelorMittal owns Europe’s only operational DRI-electric arc furnace (EAF) plant, is currently planned to start operations in 2023.

The second route is named 'smart carbon', which promises to create carbon-neutral steelmaking through the use of circular carbon.

The company explains that this is achieved in the form of sustainable biomass or carbon-containing waste streams, carbon capture and usage and storage technologies.

Aditya Mittal, President and CFO of ArcelorMittal, said: "Steel will remain a vital material for our world and indeed is the most circular of all materials.

"Our challenge is to be able to make steel using clean energy technologies* on a commercial scale while remaining competitive in the global steel industry."

According to the World Steel Association, on average during 2018, 1.85 tonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted for every tonne of steel produced.