ArcelorMittal inaugurates flagship carbon capture and utilization project

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal, Luxembourg, says it has successfully inaugurated its flagship carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project at its steel plant in Ghent, Belgium.

The 200 million euro ($211 million U.S.) Steelanol project is a first of its kind for the European steel industry, according to the company. It will utilize cutting edge carbon recycling technology developed by Skokie, Illinois-based partner LanzaTech, and use biocatalysts to transform carbon-rich waste gases from the steelmaking process and from waste biomass into advanced ethanol, which can then be used as a building block to produce a variety of chemical products, including transport fuels, paints, plastics, clothing and even cosmetic perfume.

ArcelorMittal says it will market the advanced ethanol jointly with LanzaTech under the Carbalyst brand name. The company adds that once production reaches full capacity, the Steelanol plant will produce 80 million liters of advanced ethanol, almost half of the total current advanced ethanol demand for fuel mixing in Belgium and will reduce annual carbon emissions from the Ghent plant by 125,000 tons.

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ArcelorMittal hosted an event to commemorate CCU project at the Ghent facility, attended by the Prime Minister of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon, members of the Belgian and Flemish governments, European Investment Bank Vice President Kris Peeters, ArcelorMittal Executive Chairman Lakshmi Mittal and ArcelorMittal Europe CEO Geert Van Poelvoorde.

“I am pleased to see ArcelorMittal is taking bold and innovative steps by decarbonizing its steel production at its new installation in Ghent,” De Croo says. “This is an important step in the fight against climate change while safeguarding our future competitiveness and securing Belgian jobs. By investing in clean energy technologies, ArcelorMittal is not only helping to lower carbon emissions, but it is also setting the standard for the industry. The only way forward is cleaner production that leads to better products.”

Other partners involved in the Steelanol project are London-based companies Primetals Technologies and E4tech.

In the first quarter of 2023, ArcelorMittal says it will inaugurate another program, called Torero, at its Ghent facility. The 35 million euro ($36.9 million U.S.) project is designed to process sustainable biomass—initially in the form of waste wood that cannot be used in other applications—for use as raw material input into the blast furnace, which the company says will lower the volume of fossil coal used.

The company says Torero will reduce annual carbon emissions in Ghent by 112,500 tons, and the facility will add a second reactor to the project over the next two years-doubling its size.

“ArcelorMittal Ghent is widely regarded as one of the finest steel plants in Europe, staffed by talented, committed and forward-thinking people,” Lakshmi Mittal says. “We intend to ensure that reputation endures into the future, and I believe the work being undertaken here lays the ground for what the steel plant of the future will look like.

He adds, “This is a steel plant which is embracing the latest innovative technologies; which is using sources of circular carbon; which captures and reuses as many of its waste products as possible, recycling them into something of value; and which is preparing for a future when green hydrogen will remove the need to use any fossil carbon. It is a strong example of what is possible with energy, effort and of course, brilliant scientific minds. It also demonstrates what can be achieved through partnership, so I must thank the Belgian and Flemish governments and the EIB for the support they are providing towards our efforts to transition to net-zero steelmaking.”