ArcelorMittal is launching its industrial-scale carbon capture demonstrator in Dunkirk on Monday, March 21. The steel giant wants to trap the CO2 emitted by its own activity and is betting on producing greener steel.
When we think of steel production, we do not spontaneously think of the qualifier green, we rather think of the gray plumes of smoke above the factories, or the red of the iron ore that is heated to 1,600°C. to obtain cast iron and then steel.
So many energy-intensive and CO2-emitting operations, but indeed, ArcelorMittal has planned to invest, with state support, 1.7 billion euros to decarbonize its steel production. The projects planned in Dunkirk and Fos-sur-mer alone should enable industrial CO2 emissions to be reduced by 10% in France.
ArcelorMittal wants to play on three levers: first include more recycled steel in its production, then use, from 2027, electric furnaces and a reaction with hydrogen to reduce iron ore, instead of high coal-fired stoves. Finally, ArcelorMittal wants to capture the CO2 at the source, before it escapes from the factory through the fumes. This “carbon trap”, which notably includes a 22-meter tower, is officially presented this Monday, March 21 . Ultimately, ArcelorMittal hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
This capture of carbon from the atmosphere (either by sucking it up or by trapping it in factory fumes) is partly a solution for the future for industry. This technology is progressing in the world. You may have heard of this huge carbon vacuum cleaner, Orca, which operates in Iceland and which can remove up to 4,000 tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere. For the moment it is a drop in the ocean.
It would take thousands of such devices to have an impact on the climate, but it’s a start. Capturing CO2 before it escapes from factory chimneys is even more effective. Then there is the question of underground storage. To keep CO2 underground, you need rocks that have already been proven to trap fluids. This is the case for certain volcanic rocks or old gas or oil deposits. ArcelorMittal’s CO2 will leave, for example, in liquefied form by ship in Norway to be permanently buried in old oil or gas cavities in the North Sea. It’s a huge logistics. And all this means that CO2 capture remains a very expensive technology, which is far from being the miracle solution.