ArcelorMittal invests in Char Technologies

Steel maker and mining company ArcelorMittal S.A. is investing in Char Technologies Ltd.

The $6.6 million investment is coming through ArcelorMittal XCarb S.à r.l‎. and its innovation fund. The company has a presence in 60 countries and primary steelmaking facilities in 16 countries, including ArcelorMittal Dofasco in Hamilton, Ontario. ArcelorMittal generated revenues of US$79.8 billion in 2022.

ArcelorMittal Dofasco also agreed to buy ‎biocarbon produced at Char’s facility in Thorold, Ontario, starting in 2023. Char transforms wood waste into renewable natural gas and biocarbon through a proprietary ‎high-temperature pyrolysis cracking process.‎

Under the agreement, Char’s biocarbon, the first in Canada for steelmaking, is targeted ‎for trial in the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) with the aim of reducing GHG emissions by 35,000 tonnes over ‎four years. Biocarbon produced by Char Technologies has been tested in the blast furnace at ‎ArcelorMittal Dofasco since 2021. This agreement will allow for larger scale trials in the EAF process.‎

The XCarb innovation fund’s global mandate is to invest in companies developing breakthrough technologies that will accelerate the steel industry’s transition to carbon neutral steelmaking. ArcelorMittal’s investment in Char marks the fund’s seventh global investment and first ever in a Canadian company.

The investment will be used to scale up production, as well as for research and development initiatives at the Thorold facility. This investment will also enable Char to develop additional project sites.

“The governments of Canada and Ontario called for innovative solutions to decarbonize the steel industry and I’m extremely proud to say that Char and ArcelorMittal have answered that call,” said Andrew White, CEO of Char Technologies.