ArcelorMittal has confirmed a €1.2 billion investment to install a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Dunkirk plant in France, resuming its green steel transition after a pause caused by market downturns. The EAF will replace part of the site’s coal-fired blast furnace operations and use electricity and recycled scrap to produce low-carbon steel.

The decision follows new EU policy safeguards, including a carbon border tax and stricter import quotas, that aim to protect domestic clean steel production. In total, ArcelorMittal plans to spend €2 billion on low-carbon upgrades across its French operations, including €254 million in Dunkirk, €53 million at Fos-sur-Mer, and €500 million for a new cold-rolled steel facility in Mardyck. The French government supports the project as part of its industrial decarbonization strategy.

This move reinforces ArcelorMittal’s green credentials and aligns capital spending with evolving European climate policy. It also sets a model for combining public-private support to enable costly industrial decarbonization.

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ArcelorMittal