ArcelorMittal presses ahead with its green steel initiative, pushing forward despite administrative delays from the European Union. The multinational continues to execute its plan for the Gijón site, aiming to decarbonize operations before 2025 ends. Last year, the hybrid electric arc furnace received environmental permits, and now the environmental assessment for the direct iron ore reduction plant using green hydrogen has begun.
The project will bring on stream an annual capacity of 2.3 million tons of pre-reduced iron, a pellet-like product that will feed the future electric furnace in Gijón as well as the two furnaces owned by the Vizcaya-based compact steel mill in Sestao. A central objective is to halve greenhouse gas emissions in Spain, with ArcelorMittal targeting a 50 percent reduction.
Juan Cofiño, Vice-President of the Principality and Minister for the Regional Administration, Environment and Climate Change, emphasized that ArcelorMittal’s investment will significantly improve Asturias’s environmental outlook as the region shifts toward a lower carbon intensity model. He noted a downward trend in community emissions, pointing to a decrease from 1,400 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per million euros of GDP in 2015 to 810 in 2019. This trajectory supports regional efforts to curb emissions in line with national goals. [Source: Prensa Ibérica, statements reported for regional assembly coverage]
Rodríguez, a Podemos deputy, raised questions about the environmental impacts despite the data showing progress. He highlighted the public aid package of 450 million euros and asked for a detailed account of concrete environmental effects arising from ArcelorMittal’s investment, as discussed with regional authorities ahead of European Commission review. Cofiño indicated the figure may grow as assessments continue, stressing that the electric furnace project already received an environmental impact approval last October, and a substantive amendment to the integrated environmental permit was granted in December. He added that the environmental assessment and the integrated environmental authorization for the direct iron ore reduction plant have now commenced. [Source: regional assembly coverage and Prensa Ibérica notes]
Blast Furnace Commissioning
The direct reduced iron facility and the electric arc furnace are slated to replace the A blast furnace in Gijón. A restart of that furnace began recently after a four month pause tied to the softer demand for European steel products, with pig iron production projected to reach 70 percent capacity in the coming week. The project aligns with broader industrial and environmental strategies to modernize steelmaking in northern Spain. [Source: regional economic briefings and company statements, 2025 updates]