“The imperative to accelerate the road to net zero has never been greater. Given the scale of the challenge, it’s important to be open to all technology solutions and certainly, at ArcelorMittal, we are open to all technologies that can take steelmaking to near zero. The investments we are planning here at Ghent are a great testament to that,” said ArcelorMittal chief executive Aditya Mittal.

The system, a first of its kind for the European steel industry, utilizes technology developed by project partner LanzaTech. The technology uses biocatalysts to transform carbon-rich waste gases from the steelmaking process and from waste biomass into advanced ethanol, which can then be used as a building block to produce a variety of chemical products including transport fuels, paints, plastics, clothing and even cosmetic perfume. 

Once production reaches full capacity, the Steelanol plant will produce 80 million liters of ethanol, almost half of the total current advanced ethanol demand for fuel mixing in Belgium. 

The ethanol will be jointly marketed by ArcelorMittal and LanzaTech under the Carbalyst brand name, and the system will reduce the Ghent plant’s annual carbon emissions by 125,000 metric tons. 

“ArcelorMittal Ghent is widely regarded as one of the finest steel plants in Europe, staffed by talented, committed and forward-thinking people. We intend to ensure that reputation endures into the future and I believe the work being undertaken here lays the ground for what the steel plant of the future will look like,” said ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal