The global steel company ArcelorMittal has invested more than PLN 10.5 billion ($2.6 billion) in its Polish assets over the past 20 years, with a significant portion allocated to environmental projects. According to a press release from ArcelorMittal Poland, these investments have resulted in a 90% reduction in dust emissions and a 42% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to 2004 levels.
The company’s Polish division has undergone numerous changes in the past two decades, implementing new technologies in compliance with increasingly strict EU directives, decommissioning outdated installations, and modifying many production processes to minimize environmental impact. ArcelorMittal aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with an interim goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 35% at its European plants by 2030 compared to 2018.
“Decarbonization is a huge challenge for the steel industry across Europe,” commented Sanjay Samaddar, President of the Board of ArcelorMittal Poland. “To make it successful, several conditions must be met, including access to large-scale, renewable energy at competitive prices. We know the transformation will be a long-term process, so we are already working intensively to limit our impact on the environment in our current processes.”
In recent years, ArcelorMittal has invested about PLN 700 million in green projects at the Dąbrowa Górnicza plant. Modernization efforts have also been made at plants in Sosnowiec, Zdzieszowice (PLN 205 million), and Kraków (PLN 100 million), among others. ArcelorMittal Poland plans to invest an additional PLN 165 million ($40.9 million) in modernizing the coke plant in Zdzieszowice, with all work expected to be completed by 2026.
As reported by GMK Center, in 2023, ArcelorMittal Poland invested PLN 1.5 billion ($363 million) in modernization and growth projects at three facilities to improve product quality, energy efficiency, and plant efficiency, with the largest investment directed towards modernizing the blast furnace in Dąbrowa Górnicza.