Steel group receives national funding decision
Arcelor-Mittal intends to sell its plants in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt in the course of a decarbonisation project remodelling.
According to the company's press release, Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, recently presented the Grant notification to the management and employees.
Funding of around 1.3 billion euros
According to Arcelor-Mittal, the planned total investment amounts to around 2.5 billion euros. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection has approved funding of around 1.3 billion euros for the project. Part of this funding is co-financed by the state of Bremen to the tune of around 251 million euros.
Thomas Bünger, CEO of Arcelor-Mittal Flachstahl Deutschland, explains: „With the national funding decision, we have secured part of the costs that we need for the construction and operation of new plants for decarbonisation. With the funding from Bremen and the federal government, we are highly motivated to continue working on taking the next steps for the transformation.“
Electric arc furnaces and direct reduction plant
According to the steel group, it plans to replace two blast furnaces (one each in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt) with electric arc furnaces and a direct reduction plant by 2030.
As soon as green hydrogen is available at internationally competitive prices and in sufficient quantities, it will be used for the new plants. Then up to 5.8 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved annually and 3.8 million tonnes of CO2-reduced steel could be produced, the company writes.
According to the press release, the positive final investment decision is still pending. It is expected to be made by mid-2025.