INDUSTRY
Major investment for a greener future ArcelorMittal Belgium
Photo courtesy of Jean-Louis Vandevoorde.
ArcelorMittal has unveiled ambitious plans supported by a EUR 1.1 billion investment to decarbonise its flagship steel plant in North Sea Port. ArcelorMittal Belgium will thus reduce CO2 emissions by no less than 3.9t million per year by 2030, bringing them down by 40% compared to 2018. At the end of September, ArcelorMittal signed a letter of intent with the Belgian federal and the Flemish regional governments on the introduction of new decarbonisation technologies in Ghent. The importance of the event was highlighted by the presence of Executive Chairman Lakshmi Mittal and CEO Adithya Mittal of ArcelorMittal and three ministers of each government, led by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon. The pace of investment in the greening of the Ghent site by the introduction of innovation technologies aimed at enhancing
sustainability and circularity and reducing its environmental impact is impressive. A new milestone was reached early this year with the total make-over of blast-furnace B, which is now ready to use recycled waste wood and end-of-life plastics to replace some of the coal as fuel, at a cost of EUR 195 million. It reinforces the position of the steel plant as one of the most efficient in the world in terms of CO2 emissions per tonne of produced steel. They already stand at 25 to 30% lower than the world average. By their amplitude, the new plans will usher the steel plant into a new era altogether in what Manfred Van Vlierberghe, CEO of ArcelorMittal Belgium, described as the company’s ‘decarbonisation journey’. The effort does not go unnoticed. “This is one of the largest climate investments in Belgium and will anchor ArcelorMittal in the Ghent region”, Belgian Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten declared.
Hydrogen-ready The reduction of CO2 emissions by 3.9t million will be achieved by two means. The first is the construction of a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant with a 2.5t million capacity and two electric furnaces, to operate alongside
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25-11-2021 11:26
