The royal decree freeing the direct grant of public aid to ArcelorMittal was approved by the Council of Ministers this Tuesday. 450 million for the decarbonization project Part of its plant in Veriña (Gijón) puts the final decision in the hands of the company, whose investment committee is now responsible for approving an investment that will now exceed 1,000 million, according to plans announced by the multinational steel company in 2021. .
President of ArcelorMittal Spain, Jose Manuel Ariasnoted yesterday that the company must “read the decision and the conditions it creates” before making the final decision: “We have three months to submit the documents and accept the subsidy to realize the project”, declared in Avilés. “The decarbonization project, “Building green steel production capacity”but the investment also warns “It must be economically sustainable and viable.”
To meet this condition, the company is “immersed” in “collaboration” with the national government. How can we ensure that this project is sustainable?Considering the volatility we have in energy prices and what kind of mechanisms we can put in place to ensure that the parameters we have in the project are maintained. Once this is defined, time to continue the project“, added.
Government and Principality. Gijon, Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry. Francis White, before meeting with the management of the multinational company, “The aid has been approved and there is now a process required to request and accept it. has ended and the funds will continue to decarbonize the integrated steel industry in Spain, reduce emissions and have a green steel industry and ready to assist in the development of all other downstream activities.” The foundations have been laid for this to be possible and we must continue to work.”
According to Blanco, “we all know right now that the energy market is very tense and that it is an additional challenge as there are many fluctuations, but I am confident that we can work with ArcelorMittal within these three months with the help of the Spanish Government so that all these uncertainties can be removed and this project can be implemented. Life is fundamental and strategic for Asturias and Spain, because we have many industries that depend on it, such as automobiles and construction. And with a company like ArcelorMittal it will be a huge boost to hydrogen production and distribution as well.”
The Minister of Industry of the Principality, for his part, Enrique FernandezHe welcomed the “gospel” that would enable “Asturias to become one of the first regions in the world to produce green steel, and to do so with the fuel of the future”.
Project. Grant awarded agreed by the company and the Spanish Government in 2021 (though the 460 million figure was taken into account later) and a month and a half ago (on 17 February) it received mandatory authorization from the European Commission after a rigorous review that it might violate free market principles and restrict competition. .
Ministry of Industry this Tuesday justified the granting of direct aid and without competitive consensus because of its “unique character”, because “there is no use of hydrogen from renewable sources on an industrial scale, it has no precedent in Spain” and “there is only one candidate company that will do it on a large scale”.
450 million given under PERTE. (Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation), equipped with 3,100 million and fed by European Next Generation funds for industrial decarbonisation.
Using public funds given to ArcelorMittal fully into the future iron ore directly reduction furnace (DRI) plans to replace the existing blast furnace A in Gijón by the end of 2025, according to the initial schedule.
This blast furnace is one of the company-owned ones that has now been discontinued after the fire on the 22nd.
The DRI furnace is one of two key actions Arcelor has undertaken to reduce and eliminate CO2 emissions at the Veriña plant; this is a condition of ensuring that the steel industry in Asturias will comply with the goals and requirements of the climate communities. to change. The European Council and Parliament agreed on 18 December to initiate a gradual reduction of free CO2 emission rights granted to energy-intensive industries by 2034, when they will finally be lifted in 2026.
Of the two sites announced for the Gijon plant, DRIs have the slowest processing.. The other, the new electric arc furnace to replace the existing Veriña steelworks, has just received all environmental permits. This facility, which has received public support from other programs such as the Energy Diversification and Savings Institute (IDAE), will be a hybrid furnace as it will be able to use scrap metal as raw material like other similar facilities. – and also the pre-reduced iron that DRI will produce.
Approval of 450 million public aid It was vital for ArcelorMittal to take on its announced billion-dollar investmentDecarbonisation, which would require further automation processes, would result in the loss of around 1,000 jobs at the Gijón steelmaker and Avilés, and conditioning factors, although final approval by the multinational will also depend on reaching a social agreement with the unions. such as energy costs.
Since 2022, ArcelorMittal is part of the HyDeal consortium, which will produce hydrogen via photovoltaic solar electrolysis in Castilla y León to supply large-scale industry in Asturias. However, ArcelorMittal plans to continue using natural gas in the first phase until hydrogen is supplied in sufficient quantity and at a competitive price.
“Our intention is clear: to repair the blast furnace,” says José Manuel Arias.
“Our intention is clear: to repair the damaged blast furnace in Veriña on the 22nd” José Manuel Arias, head of ArcelorMittal in Spain, made this clear yesterday, pointing out that there are still a few weeks left. Until the full extent of the damage is learned and the rehabilitation project is prepared.
Arias made these statements during a meeting with Francisco Blanco, Secretary General of Industry of Asturias, and other members of the company’s management committee, including: Stefan Van CampHeadquarters Operations Director and Paul AvelloDirector of Finishing Operations.
The Secretary General for Industry announced that he wanted to take advantage of these days in Asturias to “learn first hand what the situation was after the blast furnace fire”. And he expressed the “peace” that exists for the Government of the nation: “ArcelorMittal has a clear will to accurately diagnose the extent of the fault, the extent of the repair and carry out the project, because there is the will to undertake the reform”. Moreover reaffirmed the “full support of the Government and our commitment to the project” of the multinational.
The head of the multinational steel company in Spain pointed out that the company’s decarbonization plan for Asturias and the decision on whether to repair the blast furnace are “totally independent”, emphasizing that the intention is to handle repairs. “In a few days we will begin to open the shell and we must lift the load inside the oven.. It will take at least a few weeks to access and see how refractory is. Based on what appears, we will determine the type of repair we need to perform,” said José Manuel Arias.
Of course, he insisted, “We are clear that we need to make a repair that allows us to operate the oven in safe and sustainable conditions. That’s why.” we want to be cautious. You have to go inside, analyze and conscientiously see what the solution is.”
Regarding the announcement of the mobilization calls, Arias asked: “there is an announcement date but there are many days until then. I would leave the interlocutors to go about their business.”
Francisco Blanco spoke as the Government in the plural to emphasize: “We are concerned about the status of the accident and its impact on employment.and that’s why we want to know firsthand the situation and the company’s plans”. Therefore, the desire to repair the furnace “reassures us, because this has a tremendous impact on ArcelorMittal factories in Asturias and in the whole country”.
The head of industry was cautious, but signaled that once the extent of the damage is known, they can make a final decision and deliver a program we’ve all been waiting for.”