ArcelorMittal acquires Riwald Recycling

ArcelorMittal says it has signed paperwork to acquire Netherlands-based ferrous scrap recycling company Riwald Recycling, with the transaction expected to close in January 2023. The purchase is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

Riwald Recycling was founded in 1989 and operates two fully certified scrap metal yards in Almelo and Beverwijk, the Netherlands, that have direct port access. Riwald processed more than 330,000 metric tons of ferrous scrap in 2021, ArcelorMittal says in a news release about the transaction. Its suppliers include industrial companies, original equipment manufacturers, demolition companies, traders, car dismantling companies and regional and national governments.

Geert Van Poelvoorde, ArcelorMittal Europe CEO, says, “This is the third metal recycling acquisition we have undertaken this year, reinforcing the important role that scrap steel can play in our efforts to decarbonize and meet our target to reduce the carbon intensity of the steel we produce in Europe by 35 percent by 2030. Although it is ultimately the various low-carbon emissions steelmaking technologies which we are developing and deploying which will take us to net zero, given the urgent need to make progress this decade, we are working hard to move forward on all fronts. Therefore, securing access to the raw materials—scrap steel and direct reduced iron—required for low-carbon emissions steelmaking has a very important role to play.”

Former Riwald CEO Gert Huzink will join ArcelorMittal and will further develop the business, Van Poelvoorde adds.

Huzink says, “‘The shareholders are pleased to have found a like-minded new owner in ArcelorMittal, and I look forward to continue as CEO with the full management team to support the metal recycling strategy of ArcelorMittal. Riwald has a long focus on sustainability, increasing recovery from recycled materials and CO2 reduction in our operations, all of which are well-suited to support the decarbonization strategy of ArcelorMittal.”

Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal announced the acquisition of several metal recycling facilities from Alba International Recycling and the acquisition of John Lawrie Metals. Together with Riwald, these three businesses processed more than 1 million metric tons of scrap steel in 2021.

In its second Climate Action report, published in July last year, ArcelorMittal outlined five levers that will enable the company to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, one of which was increased use of scrap. In addition to using scrap in its electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, the company says it can increase the use of low-quality scrap in the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking process by improving steel scrap sorting and classification, installing scrap premelting technology and adjusting the steelmaking process to accommodate scrap.

Earlier this year, ArcelorMittal broke ground on its CA$1.8 billion ($1.31 billion) investment to transition to direct reduced iron- (DRI-) EAF steelmaking at the ArcelorMittal Dofasco plant in Hamilton, Ontario. That plant had long used BF-BOF technology.

ArcelorMittal says a new 2.5 million-metric-ton capacity DRI furnace to be installed at the Hamilton plant initially will operate on natural gas and will be constructed “hydrogen ready” so it can use hydrogen as an input if “a sufficient, cost-effective supply of green hydrogen becomes available.”

ArcelorMittal has a presence in 60 countries and operates primary steelmaking facilities in 16 countries. In 2021, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $76.6 billion and crude steel production of 69.1 million metric tons, while iron ore production reached 50.9 million metric tons.