ArcelorMittal to invest €300 million to make electrical steels for EVs in France
Steel and mining giant ArcelorMittal has recently announced an investment of more than €300 million to create a new production unit for electrical steels at its Mardyck site in the north of France. The new unit will have a 200,000-tonne production capacity and is scheduled to start up in 2024.
The new production unit will produce the electrical steels used in electric motors in general (including for industrial machinery) and for electric and hybrid vehicles in particular. It will complement the company's existing electrical steels plant in Saint-Chély d'Apcher, by which all of the group's electrical steels will be produced in France, thereby strengthening the region's electromobility sector.
Matthieu Jehl, CEO of ArcelorMittal France, commented on the developed, "This is a new chapter for our site in Mardyck, and for ArcelorMittal in France as a whole. These electrical steels are a great technical challenge, which our teams are ready to take up in order to continue to serve our customers with highly technical steels, manufactured in France".
These steels will be used in EV powertrains in the form of stacks of very thin layers (0.2 to 0.35 millimeters), and are characterized by their magnetic and mechanical properties. This includes their high polarization to maximize engine performance, low losses to promote vehicle autonomy, and high yield strength to support engine rotation.
As part of this contribution to the electromobility sector, ArcelorMittal's electrical steels will contribute to achieving the European Union's goals on the reduction of CO2 emissions from mobility. This project is supported by the French government as part of France 2030.
"With this new production unit, ArcelorMittal will be able to support its customers in their developments, and support the development of electromobility. Keeping the capacity to produce the steels of the future in Europe and in France is an essential part of our economic sovereignty, and I am pleased that the French government is supporting us in this investment through France Relance", said Eric Niedziela, Chairman of ArcelorMittal France and Vice President Climate Action ArcelorMittal Europe.
