Luxembourg-based steel producer ArcelorMittal plans to invest $1.2bn at its Calvert, Alabama manufacturing site to produce up to 150,000mt of nongrain-oriented electrical steel (NOES) annually.
The project intends to create up to 1,300 jobs during construction and more than 200 permanent positions to support current factory operations.
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ArcelorMittal expects to start construction by the end of June 2025 and for the plant to be operational by 2027. Some of the new electrical steel production machinery will include a cold-rolling mill, an annealing picking line, an annealing coating line, and a slitter line.
NOES is a vital material for producing electric motors in battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and various other energy technologies and applications.
Peter Leblanc, chief marketing officer of ArcelorMittal North America, said “We’re committed to meeting the growing demand for high-quality electrical steels while helping customers overcome their supply chain challenges. The new plant will greatly enhance our capacity to support manufacturers by providing a steady domestic supply of high-quality NOES, enabling them to produce superior products and avoid material shortages, extended lead times and cost volatility associated with overseas supply chains.”
The firm asserts that the project enhances American manufacturing competitiveness and addresses a critical market need by decreasing the United States’ dependency on electrical steel imports through the expansion of domestic NOES production.
The facility will use semi-finished steel produced at ArcelorMittal’s electric arc furnace (EAF) plant in Calvert, which is nearing completion. EAF mills generally require significant amounts of ferrous scrap; however, ArcelorMittal has also invested in a hot-briquetted iron (HBI) production plant in Texas.
The facility will be situated close to the joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, known as AM/NS Calvert.
