French government officials have announced an “expression of interest” in an industrial decarbonization programme during a visit to ArcelorMittal’s Dunkerque steelmaking facility on September 10.
Agnès Pannier-Runache, France’s secretary of state for economy and finance, announced that €200mn would be committed in 2020 and a further €500mn each year in 2021 and 2020. ArcelorMittal has already submitted a plan to reduce carbon emissions in its operations by 33pc by 2030, which is in discussion with local authorities in the Hauts-de-France region.To meet this target, the steel group is proposing three solutions – The first is to double the use of recycled steel, reintroducing steel gases into its blast furnaces to turn it into a “green blast furnace”, and lastly, to capture and store CO2, to purify, treat and liquefy these gases for reuse.
ArcelorMittal has made it clear that it is aware of the scale of emissions and is already working on reducing them, with further financial aid from the French government.