ArcelorMittal Europe has stated that it will not move forward with direct reduced iron and electric arc furnace (DRI-EAF) plans due to a lack of certainty. The company had previously announced plans to decarbonise its flat steelmaking sites in Bremen and Eisenhüttenstadt.

In November 2024, ArcelorMittal confirmed that it was unable to take final investment decisions on constructing new DRI-EAF assets in Europe due to policy, energy and market environments being unsuitable.

In a recent post on its website, ArcelorMittal said it had formerly notified the federal government of Germany that it cannot proceed with €1.3 billion of financial assistance as it required construction of the DRI-EAF projects to start by June 2025.

Geert van Poelvoorde, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe, said: “We appreciate the financing offered by the federal government of Germany. But even with the financial support, the business case for moving ahead with this transformation is not strong enough, which shows the scale of the challenge.”

In the same post, the company highlighted the pressure the European steel market is under and said that ArcelorMittal engages regularly with the European Commission and Member States to address pressing issues, including:

  • The high level of imports entering the European market at a time of weak demand
  • The effectiveness of new instruments intended to support the transition of hard-to-abate sectors, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
  • The price of electricity and the costs that ensue when moving from a blast furnace to an electric one.

Van Poelvoorde added: “As it stands, the European steel industry is under unprecedented pressure to remain viable and that is without the additional costs required to decarbonise.

“The European Commission and Member States are taking steps to address this through the Steel and Metals Action Plan, but it cannot happen quickly enough, and I am concerned that some of the actions may not go far enough to achieve their desired purpose.

“The most important priority right now is to ensure that there is a vibrant level of steel demand in Europe that is accessible to European steel producers. Once that is achieved, the industry will be in a much stronger position to be able to progress with decarbonisation investments.”

ArcelorMittal will continue efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, but it is unlikely to achieve its 2030 carbon emissions intensity target.