ArcelorMittal to build US plant for steel used in electric cars
LONDON
Steelmaking giant ArcelorMittal said on Thursday it would build a new plant in the United States to produce steel used in electric vehicles, as it posted a surge in annual net profit.
The $900-million investment in Calvert, Alabama, will enable the company to produce 150,000 tonnes per year of material known as non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NOES).
Such steel "plays a crucial role in the performance and efficiency of electric motors used to power battery electric vehicles" and hybrid cars, it said.
"Given the nature of the U.S. auto market (larger vehicles, full-size pickups, SUVs) there is rapidly growing demand for the most sophisticated NOES for which there is limited US domestic supply capabilities," ArcelorMittal said.
The plant is expected to start production in 2027 and generate an annual underlying profit of $200 million per year.
The announcement was made in a results statement showing ArcelorMittal's annual net profit reached $1.3 billion in 2024, a 45-percent jump from the previous year.
The company narrowed its losses in the last three months of last year to $390 million, compared to a loss of almost $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
ArcelorMittal reported a net income of $1.3 billion, saying in a statement that this "reflects structural business improvements and the benefits of regional/product diversification."
