ArcelorMittal Forms $100 Million Yearly Green Steel Innovation Fund

By Dieter Holger

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal created a fund that aims to invest $100 million a year to develop technologies to help the steel industry reach net-zero emissions, a challenge the sector needs to meet to protect its bottom line.

The Luxembourg-based manufacturer said Thursday that companies are eligible for the innovation fund if they are creating commercially scaleable technologies that have strong potential to help ArcelorMittal reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a pledge it made late last year.

"The heart of these efforts lie in the work we are undertaking to develop and deploy several breakthrough steelmaking technologies," Chief Executive Aditya Mittal, who will chair the fund, said in prepared remarks. "We believe these can make carbon-neutral steelmaking a reality."

He said the company expects to have pilot plants running next year.

Heavy industries like steel are difficult to decarbonize since they require very high heat or fossil fuels, analysts say. If steelmakers are unable to lower their environmental impact, the potential value of 14% of the companies is at risk as customer habits, regulation and investor pressure on climate change mounts, according to consultancy McKinsey & Co.

ArcelorMittal also launched certificates for green and recycled steel to help its customers meet their own environmental goals.

Write to Dieter Holger at [e-mail]; @dieterholger

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2021 13:55 ET (17:55 GMT)

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