US Steel Building Advanced Sustainable Steel Facility in Arkansas

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Electric arc furnace US Steel (Credit: United States Steel)

United States Steel Corporation has broken ground on an advanced sustainable steel mill in Arkansas.

The $3 billion facility will feature two electric arc furnaces (EAF) with 3 million tons of steelmaking capability a year. It will also have an endless casting and rolling line and advanced finishing capabilities.

The mill will be 75% less carbon intensive than a traditional steel production plant, US Steel CEO David B. Burritt says. The facility will be used to make steel primarily for automobiles, construction and appliances.

The use of the endless casting and rolling line technology will enhance the company’s energy use and overall efficiency, US Steel says. The technology offers continuous production, which can save energy with fewer stops and starts.

EAFs are smaller and more efficient for steel making compared to the traditional blast furnaces. They use scrap as their main source of material, take up less space and take less time to manufacture products. Blast furnaces use iron ore and coke as the main fuel source, which is also carbon intensive.

According to the International Energy Agency, using scrap-based materials and electricity in steel production is the key for the steel industry to reach net zero. The agency says as of 2020, only 20% of the world’s steel was produced by EAFs and scrap materials.

A study done on the European steel industry last year showed it was in danger of surpassing its carbon budget and said companies would need to stop renewing blast furnaces by 2030 if it was to have a chance of hitting net zero goals.

Sustainable steel production is growing, and in 2021 Nucor said it was launching green steel produced with 100% renewable electricity and carbon offsets that will be used by General Motors. BMW also said earlier this year it would use recycled and low carbon steel to meet more than 40% of its steel needed at its European plants by 2030.

The US Steel plant will be located next to the company's Big River Steel facility in Osceola, Arkansas, and together the operations will be known as Big River Steel Works.  The project is expected to be completed and fully operational by 2024.

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