Aditya Mittal, CEO of steel maker ArcelorMittal, said urgent action is needed on the European carbon adjustment mechanism at EU’s external borders and visibility into energy costs, 6 February 2025. Photo: ArcelorMittal

Aditya Mittal, CEO of steel maker ArcelorMittal, said urgent action is needed on the European carbon adjustment mechanism at EU’s external borders and visibility into energy costs, 6 February 2025. Photo: ArcelorMittal

There is still too much uncertainty about European support for major climate investments in continental Europe. So said Aditya Mittal, the boss of steel giant ArcelorMittal, at a meeting with investors on Thursday.

There are plans to make blast furnaces more environmentally friendly in France, Germany and Belgium, where a huge climate investment is also planned. However, at the end of last year, the steel group ArcelorMittal decided to suspend its decarbonisation projects in Europe following a preliminary study carried out by engineers in Ghent. According to the firm, the European market needs to be clarified before it can actually invest the billions of euros envisaged.

One of the Belgian industry's biggest climate investments is at stake in Ghent: the possible switch from conventional blast furnaces to electric plants, possibly equipped with a “direct reduced iron” plant. However, ArcelorMittal's international management has not yet taken a final decision on this investment of more than €2bn.

The metal giant employs more than 4,500 workers at its Ghent site, and a further 1,100 subcontractors earn their living from the site, one of the largest in the port of Ghent. But the steel industry is also of strategic importance to the new European Commission, which visited Ghent shortly after taking office to stress the importance of investment and its ambition to support the industry.

"Of course we are being listened to, but listening is not enough, is it?" commented Mittal on Thursday, in remarks reported by the Belga news agency. "Action must follow. And that's what we're looking forward to. Action."

The ArcelorMittal boss acknowledged that some progress has been made in the first half of the year and stressed that the postponement of the reporting rules of the European SRWC Directive would be a positive step. Nevertheless, he believes that other measures are needed to support the European steel industry.

Mittal refers mainly to trade and the European border carbon adjustment mechanism, but he also advocates visibility on the cost of energy, which the electric steel industry will badly need. "Energy may take longer because it is a geopolitical issue, but action on trade, which is under the control of European regulators, and the border carbon adjustment mechanism are crucial," he insisted. "Our point of view therefore remains unchanged. We need it to continue on our way. We need it to support all our operations."

While the decision on the Ghent investment is still pending, ArcelorMittal continues to invest globally. For 2024, the company is planning between $4.5bn and $5bn of investment. Priority will be given to markets with strong growth prospects and high returns, such as Brazil, India and the United States.

While Mittal feels sympathy from the European Commission, he stresses that sympathy alone is not enough. "Yes, there is sympathy, but clearly we want to see action.”

Read the original French-language version of this news report /

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