The ArcelorMittal steelworks in Dunkirk, February 11, 2022 in the North (AFP/Archives/FRANCOIS LO PRESTI)
To reduce emissions from its Dunkirk steel production site, by replacing a blast furnace with electric furnaces, ArcelorMittal will invest up to 1.8 billion euros, financed in part by state aid, the government announced on Sunday.
The work should make it possible to reduce CO2 emissions from the industrial sector in France by almost 6%, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday, presenting the project to journalists.
The State will provide aid, validated by the European Union, which could go up to 850 million euros depending on the investments actually made, Bercy said.
President Emmanuel Macron welcomed “a historic agreement” made possible by the France 2030 plan dedicated to innovation. “Ultimately, this will eliminate more than 1% of our CO2 emissions,” he said in a message on the LinkedIn network.
The money released by the company and the State will make it possible to build two electric furnaces as well as a direct iron reduction unit, the first step in producing carbon-free steel.
These installations running on electricity and gas, and eventually hydrogen, will replace one of its blast furnaces running on coal, symbols of the steel industry but highly polluting. The factory is one of the 50 industrial sites that emit the most greenhouse gases in France.
In total, the investments should make it possible to reduce the site’s CO2 emissions by 4.4 million tonnes per year.
– “A major victory” –
The investments have not yet been completely validated by ArcelorMittal but the company is currently carrying out the final studies, Bercy said. The furnaces and direct iron reduction unit are expected to start operating in 2027.
Bruno Le Maire will go there on Monday accompanied by the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu to sign the State aid contract, carried out under the aegis of the Environment and Environmental Management Agency. energy (Ademe).
A letter of intent between the company and EDF will also be presented on this occasion to guarantee the site a stable and competitive supply of electricity.
The group, number two in the world in steel, had already announced at the beginning of 2022 that it wanted to invest 1.7 billion euros in the decarbonization of its sites in Dunkirk and Fos-sur-Mer. This is the same project but resized.
Since then, “we have achieved several key milestones in parallel: first phase of engineering studies, approval by the European Commission of support from France, signing of a letter of intent with EDF for the electricity supply and agreement operating with Ademe”, indicated an ArcelorMittal spokesperson.
He did not immediately specify whether the investments planned in Fos-sur-Mer were still relevant.
Bruno Le Maire considered that the confirmation of ArcelorMittal’s desire to invest on the site was “a major victory for France”.
Four of the company’s locations, in Germany, Belgium, Spain and France, were in competition, he said. The American plan for green industry (Inflation Reduction Act) also made “investment in the United States very attractive”, added the minister.
France, according to him, did well thanks to “the availability of nuclear energy at Gravelines” and the possibility of ensuring the long-term supply of electricity to the site, thanks to the published support negotiated with Brussels and thanks to “the stability of our economic policy”.
On Monday, Bruno Le Maire will go earlier in the day to the site of the Gravelines nuclear power plant for his first trip since he took charge of energy in Bercy, thanks to the reshuffle.
The fact that this mission no longer has its own ministry “does not mark any step backwards” in the decarbonization of the country’s economy, assured the minister. On the contrary, this will give it “new impetus” to make France the leading European green economy in 2040, he declared.
“Having energy under our authority will allow us to further accelerate this climate transition and to put all of Bercy’s economic and financial resources at the service of this ambition,” insisted Bruno Le Maire.
© 2024 AFP
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