The decarbonisation of the Dunkirk site, where steel will be produced using hydrogen, will reduce CO2 emissions from the industrial sector in France by almost 6%.

This announcement was made last Sunday by Bruno Le Maire, the French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. The French government will provide financial aid, validated by the European Union, of up to €850 million (about $925 million) depending on the investments actually made, added the Ministry of Economics and Finance. A few moments later, President Macron announced that a “historic agreement” would be signed the following day with ArcelorMittal to electrify the blast furnaces at Dunkirk, thanks to France 2030. “I promised to do this in November 2022. French-style ecology is good for the economy and for jobs,” commented Mr Macron.

French ministers are paying a visit to ArcelorMittal in Dunkirk

According to *AFP, Bruno Le Maire visited the site on Monday, January 15. He went along with Christophe Béchu, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, to sign the state aid contract, drawn up under the aegis of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe).

In February 2022, ArcelorMittal announced its decarbonisation plans. The Dunkirk site will be converting to hydrogen. It will be installing a DRI (Direct Reduction of Iron) unit, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes, to convert iron ore using hydrogen instead of coal. This DRI unit will be supplemented by two electric furnaces.

These new industrial equipments will be operational from 2027. They will gradually replace two of ArcelorMittal’s current three blast furnaces in Dunkirk by 2030.

*AFP stands for “Agence France-Presse.” It is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King