The companies signed an agreement this week that sets out a plan to reduce yearly CO2 emissions from ArcelorMittal's steel-making facilities in Dunkirk by 2.85 million tons by 2030 - through the construction of a DRI and submerged arc furnace unit at ArcelorMittal's Dunkirk site.

The DRI and submerged arc furnace unit to be built will feature "dimensions never seen before," said the companies, without giving further details on its size and capacity.

Last October, ArcelorMittal announced that a study had been launched to build the large-scale DRI plant, combined with an electric arc furnace in Dunkirk.

Initially, the DRI installation would use natural gas but ArcelorMittal has said it experience in DRI production, together with the results of a DRI-hydrogen project in Hamburg mean the DRI installation will be fully ‘hydrogen-ready'.

The partners noted that the Air Liquide group has developed expertise both for hydrogen all along the value chain, from production and storage to distribution, as well as CO2 capture technologies. 

"This project represents a major technological breakthrough and confirms ArcelorMittal's willingness to profoundly and sustainably transform our production technologies, in line with our objectives to reduce our CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050," said Geert van Poelvoorde, chief executive of ArcelorMittal Europe

ArcelorMittal previously said it plans to scale up its green steel offering to reach 120,000 tons in 2021 and 600,000 tons by 2022, to help deliver its CO2 emissions targets.