Steelmaker Arcelormittal has broken ground on its C$1.8bn ($1.3bn) project to transition its Dofasco plant in Ontario, Canada to direct reduced iron-electric arc furnace (DRI-EAF) technology.

The project will convert the plant from the integrated blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace process (BF-BOF) process currently in operation, which uses coke derived from coking coal as a reducing agent.

The new 2.5mn t capacity DRI furnace will initially operate on natural gas but will be constructed ‘hydrogen ready’ so it can be transitioned to utilise green hydrogen when supply becomes available. 

The project will reduce the facility’s emissions by 60pc, even before it is converted to run on green hydrogen.

“This is the first full-scale decarbonisation project we have broken ground on since announcing our commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 and reduce carbon emissions intensity by 25pc by 2030,” says Arcelormittal chair Lakshmi Mittal.

C$1.8bn – Cost of project

The first onsite construction work will begin in January 2023, with the demolition of the decommissioned coke plant to make room for the new DRI plant. This stage is anticipated to take up to nine months to complete. 

Construction of the new facility will begin next year and be completed in 2026, at which point a 12–18-month transition phase will begin, with both steelmaking streams (BF-BOF and DRI-EAF) active. The transition will be complete by 2028. 

Arcelormittal Dofasco has established a project team to manage the transition. The team has completed pre-Feed work as well as analysis of the equipment needed for its transformation.

New positions, training and development will be provided for employees moving from existing business units to new assets, with approximately 160,000 training hours required.

The governments of Canada and Ontario have committed C$400mn and C$500mn respectively to the project.

“Arcelormittal Dofasco’s steel plant is not just a cornerstone of the Canadian economy and the Hamilton community—it is an example to the world of what clean innovation will look like,” says Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau of the project.

“By investing in Arcelormittal Dofasco’s project to produce clean steel, we are investing in the future of this plant and this industry.”

Arcelormittal has published a roadmap to support its target of reducing the carbon intensity of the steel it produces by 25pc by 2030. It has also announced planned investments in decarbonisation technologies at its steelmaking facilities in Belgium, France and Spain. Combined investment over the four projects totals $5.6bn, with an anticipated reduction in carbon emissions of 19.5 mn t/yr.

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Author: Tom Young