Big River inaugurates electrical steel line

Executives from Pittsburgh-based United States Steel Corp. were among those at an October ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of its new, nongrain-oriented (NGO) electrical steel line at the Big River Steel electric arc furnace (EAF) complex in Osceola, Arkansas.

Steel made on the new production line has the capacity to produce more tons of NGO electrical steel per year in the United States than any other domestic steelmaker, according to the company.

NGO steel, branded as InduX, positions U.S. Steel as a crucial supplier for the expanding electric vehicle (EV) market, as no EV, motor or generator today is operational without the steel grades needed to transform electrical power into usable energy, the company says.

The steelmaker says the new line is the final step in a steelmaking process that utilizes up to 90 percent scrap steel as raw material and reduces carbon emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) up to 70 percent or 80 percent compared with some blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace processes.

“The American manufacturing renaissance continues in Osceola today, thanks to the innovative minds and hard work of our employees,” U.S. Steel President and CEO David B. Burritt says. “This investment will enable us to serve our customers as they address growing markets, like electric vehicles, with the knowledge that the steel they are receiving is not only sustainable but also mined, melted and made in America.”

U.S. Steel held the ceremony in the midst of a bid review process to consider offers made by outside companies to purchase all or part of its assets.

The more than 120-year-old company seems to be pointing to its investments in Osceola and its new low-carbon credentials as indicators that it is ready to compete on its own. U.S. Steel says its Osceola complex was one of the first mills in the world to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified and the first steel mill in North America to receive ResponsibleSteel site certification.

“The new line is the length of nearly eight football fields at approximately 2,333 feet long and with a 200,000-ton annual capacity,” the firm says, adding that the $450 million project was completed on time and on budget.

“This investment will allow our customers to purchase more steel made here in the USA and help them to meet their own sustainability goals," U.S. Steel Senior Vice President Daniel R. Brown says.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sent a message to the steelmaker saying, “Congratulations to U.S. Steel for opening their newest steel line at Osceola’s Big River Steel facility. As this project shows, when business, government and communities work together, anything is possible.”