ArcelorMittal Belgium has marked a major milestone in the construction of its pioneering Steelanol project with the installation of four bioreactors at the Gent steel plant.
The bioreactors, which will convert industrial gases captured during the steelmaking process into sustainable ethanol, are the central element of the installation.
The next phase will be to install pipes and connect the equipment.
The €165 million Steelanol plant, the first of its kind in Europe, will produce 80 million litres of sustainable ethanol a year, equivalent to nearly half of actual Belgium’s annual demand in a market for renewable ethanol with a large growth potential.
The sustainable ethanol produced at the Steelanol plant can be used as fuel for transport or as a building block for producing chemicals.
With commissioning and first production expected in 2022, this marks an important step towards the circular use of carbon and the end of single-use carbon, whereby gases are no longer regarded as waste but as raw materials. The technology was developed by LanzaTech, with whom ArcelorMittal has entered a long-term partnership, together with Primetals Technologies and E4tech.
Manfred Van Vlierberghe, CEO ArcelorMittal Belgium, said: “ArcelorMittal Belgium has a passion for sustainability and circularity. We are heading to become the sustainable steel company of the future through new breakthrough technologies such as Steelanol. This technology contributes to strengthening our global leadership in terms of CO2 and energy efficiency in the steel sector. Steelanol is a strong asset towards our Europe-wide goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 2030, and of achieving carbon-neutral steelmaking by 2050.”
Jennifer Holmgren, CEO LanzaTech, added: “The leadership and commitment of governments and large companies like ArcelorMittal is needed to ensure single use carbon is a thing of the past. This significant milestone brings us closer to creating a circular carbon economy at a time when all sustainable solutions are required to solve our climate crisis.”
Don’t forget our world-leading Biofuels International Conference and Expo takes place in Brussels on March 15-16 with some great speakers participating. For more information go to https://biofuels-news.com/conference/ Source
