Hi Peter,

Considering this type of July 13 news below were we hear about green steel (hydrogen) (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF), is there still room for plasma torches in such solution and technically why?

ArcelorMittal signs MoU with the Spanish Government supporting €1 billion investment in decarbonisation technologies

• New DRI and EAF installations in Gijón will reduce carbon emissions at the company’s Spanish operations by approximately 50%

• The DRI installation in Gijón will also enable ArcelorMittal Sestao to be the world’s first full-scale zero carbon-emissions1 steel plant

ArcelorMittal will introduce new manufacturing processes that contribute to a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions.

It will also further intensify its R&D capabilities in Spain to support the new project and innovation requirements.

At the heart of the plan is a 2.3 million-tonne green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) unit, complemented by a 1.1 million-tonne hybrid electric arc furnace (EAF). This starts the transition of the Gijón plant away from the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production route to the DRI-EAF production route, which carries a significantly lower carbon footprint. The new DRI - which will be the first of its kind in Spain - and EAF will be in production before the end of 2025.

To maximize the emissions reduction potential, ultimately green hydrogen will be used to reduce the iron ore in the DRI, with the EAF powered by renewable electricity. The support of the national and regional governments in this project is crucial as it will enable ArcelorMittal to have access to green hydrogen supplied through a consortium of companies that will cooperate in the construction of the infrastructure required in order to produce hydrogen in the Iberian Peninsula using solar-powered electrolysis and to transport it directly through a network of pipelines.