Same causes, same effects. The steel group ArcelorMittal announced, Thursday, June 19, that it was giving up an investment of more than 2 billion euros to decarbonize two of its sites in Germany, invoking “Lack of profitability” Steel with low emission of CO2. An abandonment which recalls that for the same reasons, at the end of 2024, of the decarbonation program of the French steelworks of Dunkirk (North), and which illustrates the historical crisis that steel in Europe is going through.
The decision of the world number two of the steel is a new blow for the German steel industry, while the other giant in the sector across the Rhine, the Thyssenkrupp group, decided, at the end of 2024, to suppress 11,000 jobs in the country.
European steel industry must face several major challenges: the drastic fall in consumption in Europe, especially in the automotive and construction sectors; competition from Chinese steel produced at low cost and in very large quantities; high energy prices in most European countries; And, now, the increase in customs duties of 50 % in the United States decided by the administration of Donald Trump.
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Source: Lemonde