Executive summary
- ArcelorMittal says it has already committed €300 million of its €1.3 billion Dunkirk electric arc furnace (EAF) project to site preparation and long-lead equipment. Permit applications are filed, and a public consultation opened on 15 October.
- The furnace will have a capacity of 2 million tonnes a year. The company expects about 0.6 t of CO₂ per tonne of steel, around a third of the blast furnace route, using scrap, HBI or DRI, and pig iron.
- At Mardyck, the €500 million electrical steel line has had its first three lines running since March. Two more lines, an annealing-pickling line and a reversing mill, are due for first tests in spring 2027.
- For buyers, the update makes the Dunkirk EAF a firmer source of lower-CO₂ flat steel later this decade, and confirms that more European non-grain-oriented electrical steel capacity is on the way.
Key numbers
€1.3bn Investment in the Dunkirk low-CO₂ steelmaking route (EAF and ladle furnace) FactArcelorMittal France, SteelOrbis
€300m Already committed to site preparation and long-lead equipment and supplies FactArcelorMittal France, SteelOrbis
2 Mt/y Capacity of the Dunkirk EAF FactArcelorMittal France
0.6 t CO₂ per tonne of EAF steel expected, about a third of the blast furnace route FactArcelorMittal France, SteelOrbis
€500m Investment in the Mardyck electrical steel line; 200 people employed there today FactArcelorMittal France
Spring 2027 First tests of the annealing-pickling line and reversing mill at Mardyck FactSteelOrbis
Fact = supported by the cited primary source or clearly attributed reporting/market assessment · Calc. = Loharo calculation from cited figures · Uncertain = an attributed claim not independently confirmed · Analysis = interpretation or forecast with sourced premises.
What happened
In a statement dated 14 October, ArcelorMittal France gave an update on its two largest projects in Europe in a decade, both in the Dunkirk area of northern France. SteelOrbis reported the same figures in English the next day.
At Dunkirk, the company plans to build an EAF with a capacity of 2 million tonnes a year and a ladle metallurgy furnace, at a cost of €1.3 billion. Preparatory work started several months ago, and €300 million has already been committed to preparing the site and securing equipment and supplies with long lead times. The company says the new route will emit about 0.6 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel, around three times less than the blast furnace route, using a mix of recycled steel, HBI or DRI, and pig iron. It has published the review of its public consultation with France’s national public debate commission (CNDP) and filed its permit applications. The formal public consultation opens on 15 October, with a first public meeting on 16 October. A team of 110 people based in Dunkirk runs the project.
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Advertise with LoharoThe official consultation register shows the public consultation on the environmental permit and building permit for the furnaces at Grande-Synthe running from 15 October 2026 to 15 January 2027. The local news site La Clé Publique reports that the blast furnace route on the site emits about 1.7 t of CO₂ per tonne, and that the plan is smaller than the 2022 programme, which included a second furnace and a direct reduction plant.
At Mardyck, the first three lines of the new electrical steel line started operating in March and now employ 200 people. Equipment is being finished on the second phase, an annealing-pickling line and a reversing mill, with first tests expected in spring 2027. Once these start, the company says, the line will be complete. ArcelorMittal adds that all of its European electrical steel is now made in France, at Mardyck and at Saint-Chély-d’Apcher in Lozère. The Mardyck investment is €500 million.
“The steps already taken and the work now visible show concrete progress on our low-CO₂ steel project,” Bruno Ribo, chief executive of ArcelorMittal France, said, according to the French statement (our translation).
The Dunkirk furnace was confirmed in February (see our capacity watch). The October statement gives no start-up date.
Why it matters for steel buyers
Analysis Committed money and filed permits move Dunkirk from plan to project. With €300 million already spent or contracted, it is less likely to be paused than projects that have not reached this stage, such as the shelved DRI plans elsewhere in Europe that we track in our capacity watch. Buyers looking for lower-CO₂ flat steel from a European mill can treat Dunkirk as a likely source later this decade, while the start date stays uncertain until permits are granted.
Analysis A route of about 0.6 t CO₂ per tonne depends on the feed mix. How much HBI, DRI and pig iron Dunkirk will use, and where it will come from, will decide both the CO₂ figure and the cost of the steel. Our explainer on EAF and blast furnace routes sets out why.
Analysis Mardyck matters to electrical motor, generator and transformer-adjacent buyers. Europe has relied heavily on imports of non-grain-oriented electrical steel, and a complete French line from spring 2027 gives buyers a further EU source, with lower CBAM exposure than imports.
Who is affected
- Automotive and white-goods buyers of flat steel: a future EU source of lower-CO₂ coil from Dunkirk.
- Makers of electric motors and generators: more European electrical steel from Mardyck from 2027.
- Scrap, HBI and DRI suppliers: long-term demand for metallics at Dunkirk.
- Local residents and authorities in Dunkirk: the public consultation runs from 15 October.
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What to watch
- The public consultation, to 15 January 2027: its outcome and the timing of the permits.
- A start-up date: the October statement gives none.
- Metallics supply: where Dunkirk will source HBI or DRI.
- Mardyck tests in spring 2027: and when the full line starts commercial delivery.
Verification status: Verified
- Material factual claims are supported by appropriate primary sources or clearly attributed reporting and market assessments; Loharo analysis is labelled separately. Last fact-check: 24 October 2026.
- Key: Verified = material factual claims are supported by an appropriate primary source or clearly attributed reporting/market assessments; Partially verified = a specific material claim remains unsupported, contradicted or materially overstated; Analysis = interpretation or forecast with sourced premises; Developing = material facts are checked but the situation is still changing.
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Primary sources
- De la décarbonation de la production d’acier à la décarbonation de ses clients — ArcelorMittal France, 14 October 2026 (in French)
- Grande-Synthe: public consultation on the environmental authorisation and building permit (projet Décarbonation) — official consultation register, Préfecture du Nord, from 15 October 2026 (in French)
Supporting sources
- ArcelorMittal commits €300 million to Dunkirk steel project, targets spring 2027 tests for new line in Mardyck — SteelOrbis, 15 October 2026
- ArcelorMittal has committed EUR 300 million of its EUR 1.3 billion Dunkirk electric arc furnace project as consultation opens — SSG Events, 15 October 2026
- Grande-Synthe : le pari électrique d’ArcelorMittal — La Clé Publique, 14 October 2026 (in French)
- ArcelorMittal commits €300 million to Dunkirk steel project, targets spring 2027 tests for new line in Mardyck — EUROMETAL (republishing SteelOrbis), 16 October 2026
Related on Loharo
- Capacity watch: Taranto’s hot end halts as Europe’s green-steel pipeline splits between go-aheads and delays
- EAF versus blast furnace: what the two routes mean for emissions, cost and the green premium
- ArcelorMittal Duisburg to close steel shop and billet mill, keep wire rod mill on bought-in billets
Last fact-check: 16 October 2026 (Europe/Amsterdam).
