DRI-EAF
Progressing the engineering to move from a blast furnace to DRI-EAF
ArcelorMittal is progressing engineering for a 2.5mn tonnes per year DRI plant and 2 EAF facilities at the Ghent site.
The DRI-EAF facilities would operate alongside Ghent's state-of-the-art blast furnace. The combination of a new DRI plant alongside a state-of-the-art blast furnace enables the creation of unique synergies in ArcelorMittal Belgium’s roadmap to net zero steelmaking.
A DRI plant uses hydrogen, with natural gas as a transition fuel, instead of coal to reduce iron ore. This results in a large reduction in CO2 emissions compared with blast furnace ironmaking. The two electric furnaces will melt the DRI and scrap steel, which will then be transformed in the steel shop into steel slabs and then further processed into finished products.
Capex funding has been approved in Ghent. In June 2023, the European Commission approved the Belgian authorities to provide state aid of EUR 280mn to our DRI-EAF project in Belgium. In total, we have received support of ~EUR 880mn through a combination of loans and grants.
Whilst engineering is ongoing across all of our decarbonization projects, we are continuing discussions with host governments over energy cost and availability, which is critical to ensure these projects are sustainable long- term. In Belgium, we have a letter of intent for the long-term supply of low-carbon electricity.