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Update #10 | Sustainability News from ArcelorMittal, U.S. Steel and Nucor

In this report, BuildSteel presents ArcelorMittal’s commitment to CHAR Technologies’ decarbonization tech, Nucor’s partnership with NuScale to power steel mills with nuclear power and the latest EPDs issued by U.S. Steel.

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BuildSteel is tracking the sustainability initiatives of Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) members and their partners. Here are some recent sustainability news releases related to the cold-formed steel (CFS) framing industry.

ArcelorMittal Invests $5 million in CHAR Technologies

ArcelorMittal today announces that CHAR Technologies (traded under YES:TSXV; CTRNF:OTC) has been selected as the winner of its inaugural XCarb™ Accelerator Programme, securing a $5 million investment through ArcelorMittal’s XCarb™ Innovation Fund.

ArcelorMittal CHAR Technologies

ArcelorMittal has invested $5 million in CHAR Technologies’ decarbonization technology.

ArcelorMittal launched the XCarb™ Accelerator Programme in mid-2022, in a search for breakthrough technologies that hold the potential to accelerate the decarbonization of the steel industry. More than 90 start-ups from five different continents submitted applications across seven distinct technology domains, a company news release says.

The Accelerator Programme winner, Ontario, Canada based CHAR Technologies, is developing a high temperature pyrolysis technology that transforms organic waste streams into one of two valuable energy outputs: 

  1. A high-calorific value and hydrogen-rich syngas that can be used as a replacement for natural gas or to make green hydrogen
  2. Biocarbon made from the remaining solids after the HTP process, which can be used as a biochar fertilizer to improve soil health, a pollutant filter or as biocarbon to replace fossil coal in industrial processes

ArcelorMittal’s Canadian flat steel operation, SFIA member ArcelorMittal Dofasco, has been collaborating with CHAR to test the use of its biocarbon as a partial replacement for fossil coal in its steelmaking processes, with encouraging results. CHAR’s biocarbon enables an approximate 91 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to metallurgical coal and has been tested by ArcelorMittal Dofasco since 2021. ArcelorMittal Dofasco has therefore signed a memorandum of understanding with CHAR for the purchase of biocarbon from CHAR’s Thorold, Ontario facility that will enable larger scale trials in the coming years.

“This is one of the advantages of our Innovation Fund and our unique approach,” said Irina Gorbounova, Head of the XCarb™ Innovation Fund. “We provide seed capital of course, but we also provide the industrial infrastructure and R&D collaboration that breakthrough technology companies need to bring their product to market.”

ArcelorMittal’s XCarb Innovation Fund launched in March 2021. Since launch it has invested over $160 million in seven companies, including Boston Metal, that are developing technologies ranging from long-term battery storage to green hydrogen production to CCU, and more.

Read the original ArcelorMittal news release here.

Nucor and NuScale Explore Nuclear Power for EAF Mills

NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE: SMR) and Nucor Corporation, an SFIA member, announced the two companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore co-locating NuScale’s VOYGR™ small modular nuclear reactor power plants to provide clean, reliable base-load electricity to Nucor’s scrap-based Electric Arc Furnace steel mills. 

Nucor

Nuscale

As part of the MOU, the companies will evaluate site suitability, transmission interconnection capabilities and capital costs for potential NuScale plants to be sited near and provide carbon free electricity to Nucor EAF steel mills. In addition, NuScale will study the feasibility of siting a manufacturing facility for NuScale Power Modules™ near a Nucor facility.

NuScale’s VOYGR power plants, which can be scaled in different plant configurations to produce up to 924 MWe of output, are well-suited for industrial applications as a highly reliable source of carbon-free energy. As the first and only SMR design to be approved and certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NuScale’s VOYGR plants include fully passive safety features which eliminate the need for an external grid connection to perform key safety functions and can achieve a site boundary Emergency Planning Zone, improving plant siting flexibility for industrial users like Nucor.

“Nucor is committed to supporting the development of transformative technologies that will deploy safe, reliable, affordable, 24/7, base-load carbon free power, like NuScale’s VOYGR SMR plants,” said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. “Not only will Nucor’s partnership with NuScale help pave the way for a zero-carbon energy future for our nation, but we will be building this new generation with the cleanest steel products made anywhere in the world.”

The agreement strengthens NuScale’s partnership with Nucor, which invested $15 million in NuScale in 2022, and highlights the growing global interest in SMRs among industrial leaders.

Read the original Nucor news release here.

U. S. Steel Issues New EPDs for Big River Steel Products 

United States Steel Corporation, a leading steel producer and an SFIA member, announced environmental product declarations across three key offerings including Hot-Rolled, Cold-Rolled and Corrosion-Resistant flat-rolled products where the steel has been melted at Big River Steel Works. The EPDs provide quantifiable, independent and audited environmental data on these core products. 

U.S. Steel EPD

These enhanced disclosures are valid for five years and equip U. S. Steel customers with objective information about the lifecycle impacts and emissions of steel products, enabling them to select more sustainable products for their manufacturing. These EPDs represent a step forward in the journey to measure our product carbon footprint. 

“We are thrilled to have secured EPDs on our three major flat-rolled steel coil products, representing all products melted at Big River Steel Works. This development unlocks substantial value to our customers who want to be more informed about their supply chain’s environmental impact,” said Kenneth E. Jaycox, U. S. Steel senior vice president and chief commercial officer. “Presenting transparent and data-backed validation of our products empowers our customers to make more informed and sustainable decisions.”

Certified and audited by the American Society for Testing and Materials, these EPDs provide a more holistic story of the environmental impact of each product in a single, comprehensive report to better inform transparent, sustainable decision-making. For example, they include information about a product’s impact on global warming potential, smog creation and water usage.

Read the original U.S. Steel news release here.

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