The European Investment Bank (EIB), with the support of the European Commission, has granted a 75 million EUR loan to ArcelorMittal for the construction of two ground-breaking projects at ArcelorMittal Ghent, Belgium, to considerably reduce carbon emissions by converting waste and by-products into valuable new products, helping to develop low-carbon steelmaking technologies, in line with the EU’s climate objectives.

Overview of the projects

Steelanol: a 165 million EUR industrial-scale demonstration plant that will capture waste gases from the blast furnace and biologically convert them into recycled-carbon ethanol, the first commercial product of ArcelorMittal’s Carbalyst® family of recycled carbon chemicals. The ethanol produced can be blended for use as a liquid fuel. The technology was developed by LanzaTech, with whom ArcelorMittal has entered a long-term partnership, together with Primetals and E4tech.

Once complete, the plant is expected to produce up to 80 million litres of recycled-carbon ethanol a year. The new installation will create up to 500 construction jobs over the next two years and 20 to 30 new permanent direct jobs. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

Torero: a 50 million EUR large-scale demonstration plant to convert waste wood into bio-coal, partially replacing the coal currently injected into the blast furnace.

In the early stage, the Torero plant will be able to convert up to 60 000 tonnes of waste wood into around 40 000 tonnes of bio-coal every year. This volume will be doubled in a second stage of the project, after the start of the first Torero reactor. The new installation will create around 70 external jobs and will create around ten new permanent direct jobs for the operation of this installation. The plant, which is being developed in partnership with Torr-Coal, Renewi, Joanneum Research Centre, Graz University and Chalmers Technical University, is expected to be operational by the end of 2022.

Comments on the projects

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: “Even in the current difficult times, Europe keeps its ambitious climate targets and the EIB, the EU climate bank, is committed to continuing to be a key partner. In particular in the steel industry, it means finding new ways to power machines and processes that are essential for reducing carbon emissions. Thanks to a strong partnership with the European Commission, the EIB is very pleased to support the Steelanol and Torero projects in their efforts to work on more climate friendly and competitive processes.”

Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “This EU backed loan will enable us to demonstrate that European steelmaking plants can be competitive while reducing carbon emissions and help us attain our climate goals. More than this, if we invest in European research, education and innovation we can demonstrate the global leadership that can secure and strengthen these industries and the people and communities they support for future generations.”

Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products said: “To date we have committed more than 250 million EUR to developing and testing technology that will help make steelmaking carbon neutral, leveraging our R&D facilities around the world. These two projects are our first large-scale implementations of new breakthrough solutions, as part of our commitment to reduce carbon emissions and transform steel production. With the EIB and European Commission’s support, we can scale up technologies and transition steel to carbon neutrality, and thereby play a significant role in helping Europe achieve its green ambitions.”

Jennifer Holmgren, CEO LanzaTech said: “The European Commission and the EIB continue to play a key role in enabling a new carbon economy for Europe by supporting innovative projects. Chemicals and liquid fuels, especially in the aviation sector, still need a source of carbon, while power generation can and should be fully decarbonized. Carbon recycling gives us a choice as to where the carbon in our products comes from: fresh fossil or reused carbon emissions. Our groundbreaking partnership with ArcelorMittal highlights their continued leadership in helping to create a low carbon economy in Europe.”

Additional details

• The Steelanol and Torero projects are set to reduce up to 350 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year in the first phase.
• The CO2 reduction is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions of a quarter of a million passenger vehicles being driven for one year.
• ArcelorMittal Europe has committed to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030, with a further ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050, in line with the EU’s Green Deal and the Paris Agreement.
• EIB investment is supported by InnovFin Energy Demonstration Projects and financed under Horizon 2020 and the NER 300 funding programme of the European Commission.

Text: ArcelorMittal
Images: ArcelorMittal

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3D image of completed plant

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, World Expo, like other world events, has been postponed. The event will now take place from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 in Dubai, UAE. Called Expo 2020 Dubai, it will be the first World Expo ever hosted in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region. Expo 2020 Dubai is expected to attract 25 million visitors, and 190 nations have already confirmed their participation including Luxembourg with a 2100 m2 pavilion built with ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products’ steel.

Steel from Belval and Differdange

ArcelorMittal was selected to supply the steel products for the construction of the building’s structure. The 170 tonnes of hot rolled structural steel shapes from the IPE and HE European size series were made in the Luxembourg mills of Belval and Differdange - in electric arc furnaces fed with recycled scrap as raw material. This is today’s most energy and resource preserving production route. As a natural key advantage of steel, the structural components were designed with mechanically fastened connections. At no extra cost, this solution allows for the economical disassembling, transportation, and reassembling of the pavilion for its next-use life.

A breathtaking design inspired by its nation

The pavilion is inspired by its nation: small and ambitious, intriguing and reassuring, and above all generous and open. The overall theme is ‘Opportunity,’ reflecting the country’s history, its present, and its future. The overall shape of the pavilion resembles a Möbius loop, where the twisting of a ribbon yields one single surface with no beginning and no end expressing infinity and, in particular, symbolising the circular economy. The face of the ribbon transiently serves as floor, wall, and ceiling thereby allowing a multifaceted scenography from the starting point to the top floor.

The visitors’ experience begins in the entrance area. As a kind of red carpet, a wide ramp between the inside and the outside skin of the building invites you on a journey of discovery via a gently sloped path to the next floor. It enthrals the visitors as they merge with the pavilion’s exhibition, which in a natural an interactive way displays a series of visuals featuring the country and its people.

The ground floor mainly accommodates the gift shop, restaurant, and the visitor’s ramp to the first floor. The first level hosts a multi-functional area for receptions and conferences, as well as the ramp guiding visitors without interruption towards the top. The second floor, the highest point, is dedicated to an exhibition of Luxembourg’s space economy.

To reach the earth again, a visitor has three options: taking the stairs or the lift are the conventional options, but a slide winding through the picturesque green patio is the fun one.

Key facts

• Typology: Exhibition pavilion
• Size: 2100 m2
• Investor: Luxembourg Government
• Architect: Metaform
• Consulting engineer: AuCARRE
• Engineer of record: WME Global
• General contractor: Nüssli Adunic
• Main contractor: Al Ahmadiah
• Steel fabricator: Iron Steel Makers Industries

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications, Constructalia
Images: Metaform

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Expo 2020 Dubai: Luxembourg Pavilion

Expo 2020 Dubai: Luxembourg Pavilion - Inner steel structure

Expo 2020 Dubai: Luxembourg Pavilion

Expo 2020 Dubai: Luxembourg Pavilion

The French company Matière first introduced its Unibridge® concept in 2004. Today these patented structures are shipped around the world where they are used as permanent or temporary crossings for vehicles and pedestrians. Thanks to their modular nature and ease of construction, the Unibridge® is particularly popular in remote regions where materials and skilled workers are hard to find. The solution uses ArcelorMittal’s S355K2+N and S460M high strength steel plates which are known for their durability, giving the Unibridge® a 100-year design life.

Close cooperation with ArcelorMittal

“The close cooperation between ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products and ArcelorMittal Projects, together with the quality of the plates produced in ArcelorMittal’s mill in Gijón, Spain guarantees the best level of service for Matière,” says Michaël Regal, Account Manager for Matière at ArcelorMittal Projects.

Since 2018, heavy plates from our Gijón mill have been successfully delivered to Matière and its subcontractors in France, Belgium, and Portugal. “When a very short lead time is required, we are in the position to offer a delivery in less than a week at any Matière yard thanks to our own stock of plates, beams, and tubes,” says Michaël Regal.

Designed for remote and developing regions

The Unibridge® was initially developed as a solution for the military but was never adopted. Matière immediately saw the potential of the solution in developing countries and remote locations as Hervé Blanc, Deputy General Manager of Matière, explains: “These areas typically require many bridges, but there is a lack of resources and skills to produce them.”

Ease of transport and construction in remote areas was a key consideration in the early design phase notes Hervé Blanc: “We developed a structure that does not require welding on site, and which can be assembled without heavy lifting devices. In some cases, the girders can be offloaded and pushed into place with an excavator, or sometimes by the truck that delivered them. It takes around five days to install a typical two-lane (nine-metre wide) bridge that is 40 metres in length.”

The only preparatory work that needs to be done is preparing the bridge’s abutments. That can be done by an onsite partner who can complete the work while the bridge is being manufactured and shipped.

Simple design makes transport simple and efficient

Matière adapted the design to ensure two of the box girders which form the basis of the Unibridge® could fit into a standard shipping container. “Our box girders are 11.4 metres in length, ensuring two can fit into each container,” says Hervé Blanc. “The girders can be pinned on site to create a maximum length of 60 metres. But if you include piles, you can extend the length of the bridge significantly. We’re currently constructing a Unibridge® in the Philippines which will be four kilometres long. There is no limit on the width of the Unibridge® as the box girders can be simply linked with spacers.”

Weight saving with S460M

Another consideration was keeping the weight of the container below 25 tonnes. “Thanks to the use of ArcelorMittal grades such as S460M, weight is not an issue,” says Hervé Blanc. “In the beginning we constructed the entire bridge from S355, and a typical box girder weighed 12 tonnes. Today we are using more S460M, and the average weight is 10 tonnes, a saving of almost 20 percent. Now we are looking at replacing the S355 with S460M from ArcelorMittal to achieve even greater weight savings. That will reduce the cost of transporting and installing the bridges.”

Low maintenance steels extend bridge life

One of the key advantages of ArcelorMittal’s steels is that they don’t need a lot of maintenance as Hervé Blanc explains: “ArcelorMittal’s steels are very tough! The bridge simply needs a fresh coat of paint every 15 to 20 years to protect it. In some areas we recommend a C5 paint system due to the marine environment.”

A sustainable solution thanks to steel

As the Unibridge® is prefabricated, there is no waste produced on site. All scrap steel produced in Matière’s factories is recycled or reused. The sustainability of the solution is further enhanced as it can be transported by ship from Matière’s plants in Europe.

The bridges themselves can be fully recycled at the end of their life or disassembled and reconstructed in another location. “The company which is building a traffic deviation around Strasbourg, France is renting two of our Unibridge® solutions to divert traffic around the roadworks,” says Hervé Blanc. “They will be in place for two years before they are dismantled and reassembled in another location.”

To date, Matière has installed over a thousand Unibridge® solutions in more than 35 countries around the world. “The introduction of the Unibridge® in 2004 was the beginning of Matière’s success story,” says Hervé Blanc. “But every Unibridge® is also a human success story. They can cut a journey that normally takes a day, to just an hour. This dramatically changes the way people in remote areas live and interact.”

About Matière

Matière was founded in 1932 and is still a family-run company. The business operates three plants in France and one in Belgium. All the plants produce components for Matière’s bridge business. In addition to the Unibridge®, Matière produce reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges, metal bridges, and composite structures which use both metal and concrete. The company is also involved in the repair of concrete and metallic bridges. Around 65 percent of its bridges are exported outside Europe.

For more information, visit: www.matiere-tp.com

About ArcelorMittal Projects

ArcelorMittal Projects has a global network of offices to support customers wherever their projects are located. We can leverage all parts of the ArcelorMittal group and source steel products from different segments.

We have specialty stocks of steel strategically located around the globe. That enables us to provide a complete and customised range of steel solutions and services, which include dedicated project management and prefabrication.

For more information, visit: https://projects.arcelormittal.com

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications, Constructalia
Images: Matière

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Matière Unibridge® banner

A Matière locomotive Unibridge®

A Matière Unibridge® in Kourouba, Mali

Pont de Juba: a Matière Unibridge® in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Matière Unibridge® with piles

Matière Unibridge®

Matière logo

Matière

ArcelorMittal Europe - Flat Products has released a new EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) for heavy plates and structural steels.

This declaration refers to heavy plates - hot rolled products produced in dedicated quarto plate mills. It is certified by IBU (Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V.) according to standards ISO 14025 and EN 15804 and covers all structural steel grades according to EN 10025, including weathering steels.

Heavy plates for construction can be used in various construction applications such as:

• Buildings: structural and built-up welded sections, trusses, box girders for heavy industrial steel frames, high-rise buildings, long-span structures for transport terminals and other infrastructure.
• Road and railway bridges: steel and composite structures made of welded built-up sections or box girders or trusses, arch and bow-string bridges, pedestrian and bicycles bridges, cable-stayed and suspension decks, and pylon bridges.

You can also download this new EPD for our heavy steel plates in our Document library.

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Cover image of EDP for heavy steel plates

Heavy steel plates Environmental Product Declaration

ArcelorMittal has been recognised by CDP for its leadership on corporate transparency and action on climate change from among over 8000 companies worldwide who were scored on their 2019 disclosures. ArcelorMittal scored an A- in the 2019 CDP Climate Change Assessment, an improvement from a C in 2017, which means the company has now reached leadership level.

Among the top 11%

This puts ArcelorMittal among the top 11% of companies within our industry and compares favourably against the Global average of C, the Europe regional average of C, and the Metal smelting, refining, & forming sector average of C.

Our portfolio of low-emissions technologies to reduce carbon emissions

Designed to harness the competitive spirit of business to raise ambition and spur action on corporate climate action, CDP scores thousands of companies that disclose climate data through its platform each year at the request of their corporate customers and investors.

The positive score reflects CDP’s assessment of ArcelorMittal’s ambition to significantly reduce its carbon footprint by 2050, our disclosure of climate related financial risks and opportunities, and our work on a broad portfolio of low-emissions technologies designed to reduce carbon emissions, including:

• Carbalyst – captures waste gases from the blast furnace and biologically converts it into bio-ethanol. The €120m launch project at ArcelorMittal Ghent is expected to be completed in 2020.
• IGAR – captures waste CO2 from the blast furnace and converts it into a synthetic gas that can be reinjected into the blast furnace in place of fossil fuels to reduce iron ore. An industrial pilot of this technology is being developed at ArcelorMittal Dunkirk in France.
• Torero – €40m investment to convert waste wood into bio-coal to displace the fossil fuel coal currently injected into the blast furnace. Our first large scale demonstration plant in ArcelorMittal Ghent is expected to be in operation by the end of 2020.
• Reducing iron ore with hydrogen – €65m investment at Hamburg site to increase the use of hydrogen for the direct reduction of iron ore.
• Carbon capture and storage – integrating breakthrough technologies to bring down the costs of capturing, purifying, and liquifying CO2 from waste gases. Construction of a carbon capture and storage pilot project, 3D, will begin at ArcelorMittal Dunkirk in 2020 and will be able to capture 0.5 metric tons of CO2 an hour from steelmaking gases by 2021.
• Steligence® solutions to aid the design and delivery of low carbon buildings.
• S-in motion® range of solutions to reduce the weight of (electric) cars and trucks without compromising on strength and our iCARe® specialist steels for electric motors.

"On the road to reaching our net zero target"

Alan Knight, Corporate Responsibility General Manager at ArcelorMittal, says: “To receive an A- from CDP is a strong validation of the work we have underway to address the risks of climate change and decarbonising the steel industry. With the investments we’re making in new technologies and ground-breaking innovations, we are on the road to reaching our net zero target by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement.”

The full list of companies that were assessed, as well as other publicly available climate change scores, are available on CDP’s website at: CDP scores

Text: ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications
Image: ArcelorMittal

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ArcelorMittal's Headquarter: view from the east

Just like gold, steel can be endlessly recycled. A great example of this can be found in Kraków, Poland.

Tomorrow without smog

ArcelorMittal Poland recycled the steel from old stoves sent in by residents, producing 350 bicycle racks from the scrapped steel for the city. Residents who gave up their old, polluting stoves received a bonus from the company and contributed to 'Tomorrow without smog,' a programme for cleaner air in Kraków.

Not only will the environment benefit from the old stoves being replaced, but the aim is also to encourage cycling in Kraków further benefiting air quality in the city.

A great initiative from our Polish colleagues!

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications, Constructalia
Images: ArcelorMittal Europe
Video: ArcelorMittal

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Old stoves reborn as bike racks

Bicycle racks recycled from old stoves

Recycled bicycle racks plaque

Recycled bicycle racks banner

Recycled bicycle racks in Kraków