ArcelorMittal Spain resumes ACB operations for one order

ArcelorMittal says it is temporarily reopening its Acería Compacta de Bizkaia (ACB) plant in Sestao, northern Spain. Production will resume from February 11 to February 17 for one order. The plant produces hot-rolled, pickled and oiled coil in an electric arc furnace.

"We're going to do a short production run of six days and then shut down ACB again," the spokesperson says. The steelmaker declined to comment on the volume and characteristics of the coils it would supply, or to disclose information about its customer.

The facility was shut down for maintenance last August, but a forecast of declining demand prompted the manufacturer to delay reopening. According to ArcelorMittal, a date for the resumption of production is currently unknown.

Meanwhile, the Asturian regional government has begun an environmental assessment of ArcelorMittal's 2.3 million tonnes per year direct reduced iron plant based on clean hydrogen. The new DRI plant will be the first of its kind in Spain and will power the Asturias and Sestao steel mills.

In December, the steelmaker received a positive environmental impact statement (EIS) for the installation of a hybrid EAF at its plant in Gijón.

Both the direct reduction plant and the electric arc furnace are part of ArcelorMittal's €1 billion ($1.07 billion) investment in Spain. The plan has entered its final phase prior to implementation. In January, the European Commission's Directorate General for Competition gave a positive assessment to the project. The final decision on financial support is now made by the European Commission, which must make a decision within two months.