At Dunkirk, ArcelorMittal continues to invest in decarbonizing its operations. Bruno Le Maire, who visited the site today, confirmed the French government's support with the signing of a financing agreement between Ademe and ArcelorMittal France. Payment of the state aid has been authorized by the European Commission in July 2023. ArcelorMittal's decarbonization project includes the construction of new industrial facilities at the ArcelorMittal plant in Dunkirk: a so-called "direct iron reduction" (DRI) unit and two electric furnaces.
This DRI unit, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes, will enable iron ore to be transformed using hydrogen, without the need for coal. These new industrial facilities will be operational from 2027, and will gradually replace two of ArcelorMittal's current three blast furnaces in Dunkirk by 2030.
"This major project represents an investment of 1.8 billion euros, and will ultimately reduce the country's industrial emissions by almost 6%. It is made possible by the commitment of ArcelorMittal France's employees, our resolute support for the country's reindustrialization and the reform of the electricity market that we are undertaking."
ArcelorMittal has set itself the target of reducing its CO2 emissions in France by 35% by 2030.
