ArcelorMittal has announced an investment of more than €300m, with the support of the French government, to create a new production unit for electrical steels at its Mardyck site in the north of France. This investment will create more than 100 direct jobs.

With this new unit, which will specialise in the production of electrical steels for the engines of electric vehicles, all of the group's electrical steels will be produced in France, strengthening France’s electromobility sector.

The new production unit, which will be located on the existing ArcelorMittal site in Mardyck near Dunkirk, will produce the electrical steels used in electric motors in general (including for industrial machinery) and for electric and hybrid vehicles in particular.

These steels, which are used in engines in the form of stacks of very thin layers (0.2 to 0.35 millimeters for the automotive industry), are characterised by their magnetic and mechanical properties: high polarisation to maximise engine performance, low losses to promote vehicle autonomy, and high yield strength to support engine rotation.

The new industrial unit in Mardyck will have a 200 Kt production capacity and is scheduled to start up in 2024.

''This project will contribute to our [France's] goal of carbon neutrality in 2050, while allowing us to strengthen our steel production capacities. It is another example of our industrial renaissance thanks to the policy of the president of the republic."

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French minister delegate for industry

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French minister delegate for industry commented: “This major investment decision comes one month after the announcement of the steel decarbonisation project in Dunkirk and Fos, to which the prime minister gave the state's support. This project will contribute to our goal of carbon neutrality in 2050, while allowing us to strengthen our steel production capacities. It is another example of our industrial renaissance thanks to the policy of the president of the republic."

''This is a new chapter for our site in Mardyck, and for ArcelorMittal in France as a whole.''

Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal France

Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal France, commented: “This is a new chapter for our site in Mardyck, and for ArcelorMittal in France as a whole. These electrical steels are a great technical challenge, which our teams are ready to take up in order to continue to serve our customers with highly technical steels, manufactured in France”.