The spotlight is shining brightly on ArcelorMittal Dofasco after an unprecedented announcement by ArcelorMittal and the Government of Canada for an intended $1.8B CAD investment in primary operations to change the way steel is made. This is a big step in ArcelorMittal's journey to reduce CO2 emissions by 25% by 2030. This project will vastly reduce GHG emissions and other environmental impacts of the steelmaking processes – all before 2028.

The intended investments will reduce annual CO2 emissions at ArcelorMittal’s Hamilton, Ontario operations by approximately 60%, within the next seven years. This means the Hamilton plant will transition away from the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production route to the Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) – Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) production route, which carries a significantly lower carbon footprint.

ArcelorMittal will introduce new manufacturing processes that contribute to a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions and deliver other positive environmental impacts including the elimination of emissions and flaring from coke making and ironmaking operations.

The investment is contingent on support from the governments of Canada and Ontario. The Government of Canada announced it will invest CAD$400 million in the project. The Company is in discussions with the Government of Ontario regarding its support.

The announcement was made at an event in ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s plant in Hamilton, which was attended by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Dofasco President and CEO Ron Bedard, Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and Minister of Labour Filomena Tassi.

At the heart of the plan is a 2 million tonne capacity DRI facility and an EAF facility capable of producing 2.4 million tonnes of high-quality steel through its existing secondary metallurgy and secondary casting facilities. Modification of the existing EAF facility and continuous casters will also be undertaken to align productivity, quality and energy capabilities between all assets in the new footprint.

The new DRI and EAF will be in production before the end of 2028.

This project contributes to the sustainability of well-paying skilled positions in advanced manufacturing and is also expected to support as many as 2,500 jobs during the engineering and construction phases. It will also support ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s customers decarbonization ambitions while further enhancing ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s capability to support the most demanding product segments including automotive exposed, advanced high strength steels, and consumer packing.

This new production route for ArcelorMittal Dofasco will provide a technically advanced manufacturing environment for operations, maintenance, and technology staff to work in, with improved health and safety. 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 to transition our workforce to the new footprint.

ArcelorMittal has an ambition to be net zero by 2050. It published its second group Climate Action Report in which it set a new 2030 global carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 25%. It has also increased its European 2030 carbon emissions intensity target to 35%, from 30%. ArcelorMittal estimates the cost of achieving its global 2030 carbon reduction target is c. US$10 billion and believes government funding support of approximately 50% is required to enable the Company to remain competitive regionally and globally through the transition period given the capital investment required and higher operating costs of low-carbon steelmaking technologies. The Company has developed two technology pathways, Smart Carbon and Innovative DRI, both of which it believes will have an important role to play in helping the Company achieve net zero by 2050.