ArcelorMittal Belgium has restarted its blast furnace B (BF-B) at the Ghent facility after completing a relining and modernization process.
The blast furnace was shut in September 2020 for modernization. The new structure, the company claims, has a higher level of automation as well as lower carbon output per metric ton of steel produced. BF-B has an annual output of around 2.3mn mt. Together with BF-A, the facility’s steel output exceeds 5mn mt per year.
ArcelorMittal also intends to switch to hydrogen steelmaking in both of its blast furnaces in Belgium, in line with its carbon reduction aim to cut 30pc emissions by 2030, compared with 2018. The company plans to be carbon neutral by 2050.