The challenge we face
The world faces enormous challenges in the 21st century: from climate change to increasing pressures on natural resources, from the lifestyle expectations of those in the developed world to tackling poverty at the base of the pyramid in emerging markets. These issues have a direct impact on businesses as well as governments, civil society, and individuals.
Businesses are expected to report more openly, act more responsibly, protect the environment, and support their local communities. All of these factors pose risks to companies as large as ours if we fail to manage them. But they also present us with enormous opportunities from the commercial potential of new greener products to the innovation potential of a new generation of people entering our industry.
Related news and technical articles
ArcelorMittal joins forces with Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst programme via XCarb®
18 October 2021ArcelorMittal recently announced it has become an anchor partner in Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst programme, committing to an equity investment of $100 million over the next five years through the XCarb® innovation fund.
Corporate NewsArcelorMittal releases Climate Action Report 2
15 October 2021ArcelorMittal has published its second group climate action report, following the first group report published in May 2019 and the European climate action report published in May 2020.
Corporate NewsNew investment in decarbonisation technologies at ArcelorMittal Gent plant
5 October 2021ArcelorMittal Belgium will reduce CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tonnes per year by 2030 by building a 2.5 million-tonne direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and two electric furnaces to operate alongside its state-of-the-art blast furnace that is ready to take waste wood and plastics as a substitute for fossil carbon.
Corporate NewsXCarb®: ArcelorMittal Europe and partners move together towards carbon neutrality
9 September 2021XCarb®, launched in March 2021, is a historic step in ArcelorMittal Europe’s decarbonisation strategy. XCarb® will ultimately bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focussed on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon-neutral steel. The wheels in motion to accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral steelmaking are not just churning internally – ArcelorMittal Europe’s many partners are a valuable part of this ambitious plan.
Corporate News
ArcelorMittal joins forces with Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst programme via XCarb®
ArcelorMittal recently announced it has become an anchor partner in Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst programme, committing to an equity investment of $100 million over the next five years through the XCarb® innovation fund.
Breakthrough Energy: Catalyst
Founded by Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy is committed to scaling the technologies the world needs to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Breakthrough Energy’s efforts include investment vehicles, philanthropic programmes, policy advocacy, and other initiatives, including Catalyst.
Catalyst, launched earlier this year, is a new model for how companies, governments, and private philanthropy can finance, produce, and ensure widespread adoption of next-generation clean technologies. The programme will initially focus on four decarbonisation technologies: direct air capture (DAC), green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage (LDS), and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
An investment through the XCarb® innovation fund
ArcelorMittal’s investment will be made through its XCarb® innovation fund which was launched earlier this year. The company anticipates investing up to $100 million annually through the fund in companies developing technologies with the potential to support and accelerate the transition to zero carbon emissions steelmaking. To date, ArcelorMittal has invested $10 million in Heliogen, a renewable energy company which focusses on unlocking the power of sunlight to replace fossil fuels, and $25 million in Form Energy, which is working on the development of its breakthrough energy storage technology.
An industrial revolution to avoid climate disaster
Commenting, Aditya Mittal, CEO of ArcelorMittal, said:
“The Catalyst programme is innovative and necessary. It brings together public and private finance with the objective of fast-tracking the deployment of projects which can deliver significant carbon reduction. For ArcelorMittal and the steel industry, this kind of initiative is critically important. The steel industry knows how to decarbonise – essentially what is missing is the availability of clean energy at competitive prices that provides the foundation for us to really accelerate. That’s why, after discussing the purpose of Catalyst with Bill, we were very happy to join as an anchor partner. Achieving net zero by 2050 needs a coordinated global drive the likes of which the world has never seen before.”
Bill Gates, Founder of Breakthrough Energy, added:
“Avoiding a climate disaster will require a new industrial revolution. We need to make the technologies and products that don’t cause emissions as cheap as those that do, so the whole world can afford them and reach our climate goals. Through Catalyst, leaders from across the private and public sectors are coming together to focus on supporting technologies that are vital to the world reaching net-zero emissions but are currently too expensive to be adopted at scale. By coordinating investments and directing them toward these critical technologies, we can reduce their Green Premiums and help them get to market faster, so we can all reach our climate goals.”
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ArcelorMittal releases Climate Action Report 2
ArcelorMittal has published its second group climate action report, following the first group report published in May 2019 and the European climate action report published in May 2020.
Climate Action Report 2 (2021)
In the new report, ArcelorMittal has for the first time announced a 2030 global carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 25%. It has also increased its European 2030 carbon emissions intensity reduction target to 35% from 30% previously announced. All targets are on a scope 1 and 2 basis. The company had previously announced a net zero by 2050 ambition in September 2020.
2030 target breakdown
The new climate action report provides a roadmap that illustrates ArcelorMittal’s current thinking on the journey to net zero steelmaking. Five key levers are identified as the stepping-stones to achieve net zero by 2050. These are:
- Steelmaking transformation: In the course of the coming decades, the steel industry will undergo a transformation of the assets used to make steel on a scale not seen for over 100 years. This includes in a first phase the transition from coal (in the blast furnace) to natural gas (in a Direct Reduced Iron – DRI – plant) as a precursor to green hydrogen DRI.
- Energy transformation: The energy used to make steel in future years will undergo a further and more radical transition, from high-emitting fossil fuel-based energy to low and zero-carbon emissions forms of energy. This includes green hydrogen, circular forms of carbon, and CCUS technologies.
- Increased use of scrap: As well as using scrap in the EAF, ArcelorMittal will increase the use of scrap in blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking.
- Sourcing clean electricity: ArcelorMittal will focus on increasing the amount of low and zero-carbon emissions electricity it consumes. The company plans to do this by purchasing renewable energy certificates and by direct power purchase agreements (PPA) with suppliers from renewable projects.
- Offsetting residual emissions: There are likely to remain residual emissions for which either there is no feasible technological solution or the solution involves excessively high economic or social costs. For these emissions, ArcelorMittal will buy high-quality offsets or launch projects to generate high-quality carbon credits.
Click here to read the full press release.
Click here to download the report.
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New investment in decarbonisation technologies at ArcelorMittal Gent plant
ArcelorMittal Belgium will reduce CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tonnes per year by 2030 by building a 2.5 million-tonne direct reduced iron (DRI) plant and two electric furnaces to operate alongside its state-of-the-art blast furnace that is ready to take waste wood and plastics as a substitute for fossil carbon.
ArcelorMittal signs letter of intent with the governments of Belgium and Flanders, supporting €1.1 billion investment in decarbonisation technologies at ArcelorMittal Gent plant
ArcelorMittal has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with the Governments of Belgium and Flanders, supporting a €1.1 billion project to build a 2.5 million-tonne DRI plant at its site in Ghent, as well as two new electric furnaces.
A DRI plant uses natural gas, and potentially hydrogen, instead of coal to reduce iron ore, resulting 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.
Once the DRI and electric furnaces are built, there will be a transition period during which production will move gradually from blast furnace A to the DRI and electric furnaces, after which blast furnace A will be closed as it reaches the end of its life. By 2030, this will result in a reduction of around three million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
The support of both the national and the Flanders governments in this project is crucial given the significant cost associated with the transition to carbon-neutral steelmaking.
Approval from the European Commission for the funding support will also be required.
Smart Carbon and DRI synergies
The DRI plant will operate alongside Gent’s blast furnace B, which restarted production in March 2021 following a significant investment of €195 million.
The combination of the new DRI plant alongside a sustainable, state-of-the-art blast furnace enables the creation of unique synergies in ArcelorMittal Belgium’s roadmap to climate-neutral steelmaking.
Combined, the various initiatives will enable ArcelorMittal Belgium to reduce its CO2 emissions by 3.9 million tonnes per year by 2030 (on a scope 1 and 2 basis, compared with 2018), which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 848 172 cars being driven for a year.
As a result, ArcelorMittal Belgium will make a significant contribution to ArcelorMittal Europe’s ambition to reduce CO2 emissions intensity by 35% by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Roadmap to 2050
The hybrid model approach of Smart Carbon and Innovative DRI steelmaking in Ghent fits into ArcelorMittal Belgium’s CO2 roadmap which consists of three axes:
- Further improvement of material and energy efficiency as well as increased scrap usage
- The implementation of Smart Carbon technologies (replacing fossil carbon with circular and waste carbon; reforming waste gas into useful chemical compounds and separating CO2 for reuse or storage)
- Hydrogen - replacing carbon as a reductant with hydrogen (ultimately green hydrogen, when it is available commercially)
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XCarb®: ArcelorMittal Europe and partners move together towards carbon neutrality
XCarb®, launched in March 2021, is a historic step in ArcelorMittal Europe’s decarbonisation strategy. XCarb® will ultimately bring together all of ArcelorMittal’s reduced, low, and zero-carbon products and steelmaking activities, as well as wider initiatives and green innovation projects, into a single effort focussed on achieving demonstrable progress towards carbon-neutral steel. The wheels in motion to accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral steelmaking are not just churning internally – ArcelorMittal Europe’s many partners are a valuable part of this ambitious plan.
XCarb® green steel certificates: an integral element
For ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products’ customers, XCarb® green steel certificates are an integral element of XCarb®. The certificates help customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions, the indirect emissions from sources outside a company’s control.
According to ArcelorMittal Europe CEO Geert Van Poelvoorde, “the reception since the launch has been very positive, with customers buying green steel certificates from a range of countries and industries. I am very proud of the work done by the many teams involved in developing the technology and running the installations that are already contributing to reduced CO2 emissions which, in turn, are translated into green steel certificates that customers can buy alongside their order of physical steel.”
In 2021, approximately 120 000 tonnes of certificates will be available. The initial CO2 savings will be achieved using proven technologies such as replacing the use of coal with the injection of hydrogen-rich gases into the blast furnace.
Further state-of-the-art projects, such as the Carbalyst® project in Ghent that will capture waste gases and biologically convert them into recycled carbon ethanol, are under construction. These projects will allow for more and more green steel certificates to become available. It is expected that 600 000 tonnes worth of green steel certificates will be obtainable in 2022.
What do ArcelorMittal Europe’s partners have to say about XCarb® green steel certificates?
Ateliers 3S is proud to benefit from XCarb® green steel certificates
“Ateliers 3S is proud to be the first customer to benefit from ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® green steel certificates. Design and innovation in building with steel have been the key pillars of the first decade of our business. Today, the environment and sustainable development are at the heart of Ateliers 3S’ concerns. The XCarb® green steel certificate allows us to report a reduction in our Scope 3 CO2 emissions, something that has never been seen in our sector. They represent an important step forward on Ateliers 3S’ road to carbon neutrality.” (Julien Faisandier, CEO of Ateliers 3S, and Jean Christophe Vigouroux, owner of Ateliers 3S.)
A culture of responsibility sees BILKA purchase XCarb® green steel certificates
ArcelorMittal’s XCarb® green steel certificates will allow BILKA to report an equivalent reduction in its Scope 3 emissions, in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. “We will pass those CO2 savings onto our customers and to the end user. The XCarb® green steel certificates will help us achieve our target of reducing CO2 emissions and provide a big competitive advantage for the business.” (Horatiu Tepes, owner and CEO of BILKA.)
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Green ArcelorMittal
We are committed to leading the way in which the world views steel and championing steel’s role in creating high quality, sustainable lifestyles for people all over the world.
Leading the way with 10 sustainable development outcomes
Our new sustainable development framework focusses on 10 outcomes we need to achieve for steel to be one of the world's most sustainable materials. Pursuing these outcomes, a result of both analysis and consultation, allows us to be better prepared to respond to long-term trends and manage our stakeholders’ expectations more effectively.
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We understand these impacts and work collaboratively to protect and enhance the natural capital we and our communities and partners rely on.
Developing greener steel products
Commercial designers and manufacturers, as well as end-users, choose steel for products that need strength and durability. They make that choice because they understand steel contributes to more a sustainable lifestyle.
Therefore, we are continuously designing more energy-efficient products using materials that can be re-used and recycled and produced using fewer resources and without negative consequences for the environment or society.