Premier Ford at Hamilton’s ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel production plant on Feb. 15, 2022. Photo credit: Twitter/Doug Ford
Premier Doug Ford was in Hamilton on Tuesday to confirm his government’s contribution to funding ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s “green steel” initiative. The Premier appeared with ArcelorMittal Dofasco executives and Hamilton mayor Fred Eisenberger to pledge $100 million in grants and $400 million in conditional loans for the project, for a total investment of $500 million.
The provincial announcement is significant because it provides the last bit of funding needed for the $1.8-billion proposal that ArcelorMittal Dofasco put forward in 2021. The federal government made a similar announcement in July 2021 promising $400 million for the project, but it seemed unlikely that the initiative would move forward unless provincial funding was also received.
“Not only is this investment great news for the people of Hamilton, this is great news for people across the province as we take another step towards making Ontario a global innovation hub for building the car of the future,” Premier Ford said in a statement. “By investing in innovative technologies, we’re strengthening our economy and protecting good local jobs for Ontario workers.”
The funding will primarily be used to replace coal-fed coke ovens and blast furnaces with an iron-fed electric arc furnace (EAF) and direct reduced iron facility. The goal is to eliminate the use of coal and coke from ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s steel-making process which is, according to the Ontario government’s news release, one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the entire province.
The company will instead switch to using natural gas to power furnaces, but the goal is to eventually move to hydrogen, with the EAF being classified as “hydrogen-ready” technology.
Explaining the importance of government funding to the $1.8-billion-dollar proposal, Ron Bedard, president and CEO of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, said that “all options for the newest, most advanced technology that achieves maximum carbon reduction for steelmaking, enhanced product capability and quality, and advanced manufacturing employment opportunities were explored” and that the path to low-carbon, sustainable steel “is possible only through partnership with government.”
Now that the funding is secured, the goal is to have the project complete by 2028, although Bedard notes that the company is hoping to “accelerate” the project at every opportunity, “provided that we can do it safely.” He also noted that municipal permitting will likely play a role in quickening the project’s timeline.
The construction phase of the project will create an estimated 2,500 construction and engineering jobs.
In all, the investment will reportedly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about three million tonnes annually, the equivalent of taking almost one million cars off the road.
MPP for Flamborough-Glanbrook Donna Skelly placed a particular emphasis on jobs, mentioning that ArcelorMittal Dofasco has produced steel in Hamilton “for more than a century and is the city’s largest private-sector employer.”
In addition to construction jobs, the project will create 50 co-op placements and 30 apprenticeship placements.
A total of 160,000 hours of training will need to be logged to transition current employees to the new equipment.
As a result of the initiative, ArcelorMittal Dofasco Hamilton will be the first integrated steel mill in North America to transition off coal, and among one of the first in the entire world. Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks David Piccini called the move “a massive achievement for the province and for Canada” that “will solidify Ontario as a global leader in the transition to low-carbon manufacturing, including of electric vehicles.”
The project and the government investment are part of the province’s goal to both create low-carbon steel and transform the Ontario auto sector to meet demand for low-carbon auto production.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
