ArcelorMittal eyes increased scrap use

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has published its second group climate action report, indicating that it intends to use more ferrous scrap in its furnaces as a way to reduce its carbon emissions.

In the new report, the global steelmaker includes a 2030 global carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 25 percent. The company previously announced a net zero by 2050 ambition in September 2020.

In its news release summarizing the plan, in a section titled “2030 target breakdown and capex,” ArcelorMIttal lists “Increased use of scrap” as one of five targeted techniques.

In addition to using scrap in electronic arc furnaces (EAFs), the company writes, “We will increase the use of scrap in blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking.”

In the United States, ArcelorMittal sold its BF-BOF facilities to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020. The company also has invested to install about 1.5 million tons per year of EAF capacity in Alabama.

In addition to boosting its scrap consumption, the steelmaker lists a transition from coal-based furnace methods of making iron units to natural gas-based direct-reduced iron, or DRI, as one of its five techniques.  

ArcelorMittal also expects to use more hydrogen power and renewables (versus fossil fuels) throughout its operations and to “buy high-quality offsets or launch projects to generate high-quality carbon credits” when it must continue to rely on fossil fuels in some locations.