ArcelorMittal acquires majority stake in voestalpine’s state-of-the-art HBI facility in Texas
April 14 2022 - 1:30AM
14 April
2022,
07:30
CET
ArcelorMittal (‘the Company’) today announces it has signed an
agreement to acquire an 80% shareholding in voestalpine’s
world-class Hot Briquetted Iron (‘HBI’) plant located in Corpus
Christi, Texas. voestalpine will retain the remaining 20%. The
transaction values the Corpus Christi operations at $1 billion and
closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
The state-of-the-art plant, which was opened in October 2016, is
one of the largest of its kind in the world. It has an annual
capacity of two million tonnes of HBI, a high-quality feedstock
made through the direct reduction of iron ore which is used to
produce high-quality steel grades in an electric arc furnace
(‘EAF’), but which can also be used in blast furnaces, resulting in
lower coke consumption. HBI is a premium, compacted form of Direct
Reduced Iron (‘DRI’) developed to overcome issues associated with
shipping and handling DRI.
In parallel with the transaction, ArcelorMittal has signed a
long-term offtake agreement with voestalpine to supply an annual
volume of HBI commensurate to voestalpine’s equity stake to its
steel mills in Donawitz and Linz, Austria. The remaining balance of
production will be delivered to third parties under existing supply
contracts, and to ArcelorMittal facilities, including to AM/NS
Calvert in Alabama, upon the commissioning of its 1.5 million tonne
EAF, expected in the second half of 2023.
Commenting, ArcelorMittal CEO, Aditya Mittal,
said:
“This is a compelling strategic acquisition for our company. It
accelerates both our progression into producing high-quality
metallic feedstock for EAFs and our global decarbonisation journey.
The facility is world-class and is ideally located, with its own
deep-water port. There is also unused land on the site which
provides interesting options for further development.
“ArcelorMittal is already one of the world’s largest producers
of DRI. This acquisition will further strengthen our position and
guarantee security of supply to AM/NS Calvert, while our experience
will bring significant value to the asset. DRI is a feedstock which
has a very important role to play in our decarbonisation ambitions,
as we have announced plans to construct DRI facilities at several
sites across Europe and in Canada. Today’s transaction therefore
represents an important further step in our climate action journey.
Finally, I would like to thank the executive management team at
voestalpine and look forward to developing a strong partnership
with them.”
The Corpus Christi facility, which covers an area of two square
kilometers and employs over 270 people, is located in an optimal
coastal position with direct access to a broad and deep shipping
channel which enables cost effective transportation to the Americas
and Europe. It incorporates best-in-class technology and equipment
supplied by MIDREX Technologies Inc., a leading supplier of DRI
solutions. It currently uses natural gas to directly reduce iron
ore pellets into HBI with an Fe content which exceeds 91%. However,
the plant does have the potential to transition to 100% hydrogen,
with the Texas coast presenting advantageous weather conditions to
produce renewable energy powered green hydrogen. The use of natural
gas rather than coal as the current energy input and reductant
means that DRI-EAF steelmaking carries a significantly lower carbon
footprint than blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking.
DRI/HBI is therefore expected to play a prominent role in the
decarbonisation of the steel industry, a process ArcelorMittal
intends to lead.
ArcelorMittal is a world leader in DRI production, with c. nine
million tonnes of annual production capacity (c. 15 million tonnes
including AM/NS India). DRI – ultimately produced using green
hydrogen – sits at the heart of the Company’s Innovative-DRI
steelmaking pathway, one of two pathways ArcelorMittal has
developed which hold the potential to deliver carbon-neutral
steelmaking.
Over the past year, the Company has accelerated its
Innovative-DRI strategy, announcing projects to construct
additional DRI and EAF capacity at its operations in Belgium,
Canada, France and Spain. The combined investment for the four
projects totals US$5.6 billion, with anticipated carbon emissions
reduction totalling 19.5 million tonnes, which is 1equivalent to
the greenhouse gas emissions from 4,240,858 cars being driven for a
year. These projects sit at the heart of the company’s target to
reduce its CO2e emissions intensity by 25% by 2030 group-wide, and
in Europe by 35% by 2030.
More details on ArcelorMittal’s climate action ambitions,
strategy, technologies and ongoing decarbonisation projects can be
found here.
ENDS
About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and
mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and primary
steelmaking facilities in 16 countries. In 2021, ArcelorMittal had
revenues of $76.6 billion and crude steel production of 69.1
million metric tonnes, while iron ore production reached 50.9
million metric tonnes.
Our goal is to help build a better world with
smarter steels. Steels made using innovative processes which use
less energy, emit significantly less carbon and reduce costs.
Steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Steels for electric
vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure that will support
societies as they transform through this century. With steel at our
core, our inventive people and an entrepreneurial culture at heart,
we will support the world in making that change. This is what we
believe it takes to be the steel company of the future.
ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges
of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and
on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and
Valencia (MTS).
For more information about ArcelorMittal please
visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/
|
|
Contact
information ArcelorMittal Investor Relations |
|
|
|
General |
+44 20 7543
1128 |
Retail |
+44 20 3214
2893 |
SRI |
+44 20 3214
2801 |
Bonds/CreditE-mail |
+33 171 921
026investor.relations@arcelormittal.com |
|
|
|
|
Contact
information ArcelorMittal Corporate Communications |
|
Paul
WeighTel:E-mail: |
+44 20
3214 2419press@arcelormittal.com |
|
|
1 Calculated using the US EPA greenhouse gas equivalencies
calculator -
https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE:MT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2024 to Aug 2024
Arcelor Mittal (NYSE:MT)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2023 to Aug 2024