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Low carbon steel to be produced in Ontario after investment

low carbon steel

Low carbon steel will be produced in Ontario, Canada, after the federal government made an investment in Algoma Steel; Canada’s only fully integrated producer of steel plates. The company is headquartered in in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

Firstly, Algoma Steel is the prime leader in the steel manufacturing sector; it employs approximately 2,600 Canadians. The investment was for around $420 million; $200 million of which came out from the Strategic Innovation Fund’s Net Zero Accelerator initiative; and $220 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Secondly, the total cost of the low carbon steel in Algoma will be of $703 million. The project will phase out coal-fired steelmaking processes at the company’s facility in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; and will replace them with electricity-based manufacturing processes.

Thirdly, the company will purchase electric-arc furnaces; which are furnaces that heat materials though an electric arc; this electricity-based process would cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 3 million metric tonnes per year by 2030.

Moreover, this would be equivalent to taking more than 900,000 passenger vehicles off the road; almost the number of passenger vehicles in Toronto; according to the statement. The furnaces will also be powered by low carbon electricity.

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Low carbon steel to play a role in Canada’s climate goals

In addition, the investment is also intended to create 500 well-paying jobs, through the project’s construction phase and subcontracting; and will also create over 600 new co-op placements for students.

Furthermore, 75 employees at Algoma will receive training for high-skilled jobs in the science; technology, engineering, and also mathematics (STEM) fields.

On the other hand, about the relevance of the project, Michael McQuade, Algoma Steel CEO, said. “The 70% of carbon reduction resulting from Algoma’s proposed low carbon steel transformation represents one of the lowest cost-per-ton opportunities to achieve large-scale sustainable GHG reductions in Canada.”

Finally, he also remarked. “The combination of an Electric-Arc Furnace with Ontario’s low carbon electricity will also give our customers and infrastructure investments a green steel advantage. We are indeed most grateful for the Government of Canada’s leadership on this front; and also for their commitment in support of Algoma’s low carbon steel transformation.”

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