- Platform part of Green Molecules to Green Steel partnership
- ArcelorMittal has two XCarb low-emissions steel projects in Spain
Spanish energy major Moeve and global steel giant ArcelorMittal are combining their expertise in innovation, energy solutions, and industrial capabilities to create a new platform for developing projects that have a direct impact on the competitiveness and sustainability of the production sector. The Green Molecules to Green Steel (G2G) partnership behind the platform aims to develop, scale and implement disruptive technologies that enable green molecules to drive the transition to low-emissions steel and industrial decarbonisation.
The new platform, established as a 50-50 partnership between the two companies, will be financed through a combination of its own resources and public support. Sekuens (the Asturian Agency for Science, Business Competitiveness, and Innovation) will contribute through existing and future initiatives designed to promote innovation in Asturias.
Green molecules for decarbonisation
The G2G partnership places green molecules (such as biomethane and biogas, renewable hydrogen and derivatives, and second-generation biofuels) and other solutions for accelerating decarbonisation (such as more efficient catalysts) at the heart of the new industrial model through a hub driven by Moeve and ArcelorMittal’s innovation centres. These laboratories promote disruptive and cutting-edge technologies for CO2 capture to add value to this molecule, biotechnology that enables improvements in production processes, and artificial intelligence applied to the creation of new materials.
“This partnership strengthens the collaboration between two global companies committed to innovation, decarbonisation, and Europe’s competitiveness. The initiative we are launching today will enable us to provide solutions and make progress toward Europe’s energy independence,” said Moeve CEO Maarten Wetselaar.
ArcelorMittal’s green initiatives
ArcelorMittal Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Pinakin Chaubal stated: “We need to continue exploring technologies that will enable us to achieve environmentally and economically sustainable production, and we must do so as soon as possible.”
G2G is aligned with ArcelorMittal’s objectives for a responsible transition toward steel produced with low CO2 emissions. Spain is home to ArcelorMittal’s two leading XCarb low-emissions steel projects in Europe (in Sestao, where XCarb is produced from recycled and renewable sources for flat products, and in Gijon, where XCarb is produced for long products), with significant investments.
ArcelorMittal had been awarded EUR 1.3 billion in subsidies from Germany’s federal and local governments to construct one green-hydrogen-fired direct-reduced iron (DRI) plant and three electric arc furnaces (that would use the resulting green iron) at two of its German steel plants.
But in June last year, the Luxembourg-based steel giant cancelled these plans, saying that the financial support was not high enough to make a business case for the planned facilities.
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