Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Energy Department Continue to Negotiate Funding Award
09/16/2024 - Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. remains committed to the installation of a direct reduction plant at its Middletown works and is continuing to negotiate terms of a US$500 million funding award from the U.S. Department of Energy, the company said Monday.
“We continue to move forward with award negotiations and project execution on the transformational Middletown project. The project confirms Cleveland-Cliffs as a world-class technological leader in steelmaking,” said Cleveland-Cliffs chairman and chief executive officer Lourenco Goncalves.
Under the project, Cleveland-Cliffs would replace the Middletown blast furnace with a 2.5-million-tons-per-year direct reduction furnace and two 120-MW electric smelting units. The molten iron would feed the existing caster and strip mill. The project was selected for funding from the Energy Department earlier this year.
“Following our recent real-life trials with hydrogen reduction at Indiana Harbor and Middletown, and our well-recognized success in direct reduction in Toledo, OH, this project is a natural next step. As we have done so well in working in partnership with our UAW-represented and USW-represented workforce throughout the entire Midwest from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, we are excited to be working in partnership with our IAM-represented steel workers in Middletown,” Goncalves said.
Under the project, Cleveland-Cliffs would replace the Middletown blast furnace with a 2.5-million-tons-per-year direct reduction furnace and two 120-MW electric smelting units. The molten iron would feed the existing caster and strip mill. The project was selected for funding from the Energy Department earlier this year.
“Following our recent real-life trials with hydrogen reduction at Indiana Harbor and Middletown, and our well-recognized success in direct reduction in Toledo, OH, this project is a natural next step. As we have done so well in working in partnership with our UAW-represented and USW-represented workforce throughout the entire Midwest from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, we are excited to be working in partnership with our IAM-represented steel workers in Middletown,” Goncalves said.
