The approval of the decarbonisation plan for the ArcelorMittal factory in Gijón, vital to guarantee the future of the Asturian steel industry, now depends on the result of an economic feasibility study that the multinational is preparing. The report already takes into account the 460 million euros of European funds approved on February 17 to support investment, of more than 1,000 million euros; but the focus will be on aspects such as the energy costs that the new plants will have once they come into operation.
The decarbonisation plan for the ArcelorMittal factory in Gijón includes the replacement of one of the two blast furnaces with a direct iron ore reduction plant that will initially use gas – although later it is expected to reach 100% green hydrogen when possible. “commercially sustainable” – and for a hybrid electric arc furnace that will be powered by renewable energy. This last plant already has a favorable environmental impact declaration and this week the environmental impact study of the direct reduction plant (DRI for its acronym in English) has been published.
The procedures for the plants are advancing and the European aid has been approved, but the multinational has not yet given the final go-ahead in its investment committee, which meets in Luxembourg. To get there, ArcelorMittal sources say three steps are needed.
The economic feasibility study. It is being prepared at the moment and that it is favorable is vital for the project to manufacture green steel in Asturias to be approved. The focus is on the energy costs that the new plants will have. With decarbonisation, the danger of the increasing costs of CO2 emission rights is cleared up, but it is necessary to evaluate the costs of the increasing consumption that there will be of gas and electricity, the predictable long-term energy regulatory framework, the aid provided for industries intensive in energy consumption and the costs that the supply of green hydrogen will have.
The social agreement. The second condition for approving the investment is that an agreement be reached between the company and the workers’ representatives to address the adaptation of the volume of the workforce to the new facilities and production processes, much more automated. Initial estimates pointed to an adjustment of about 1,000 workers for a workforce that is already below 5,000 employees in Asturias.
Aid Decree. And the third condition is that the Government of Spain develops and approves the royal decree to grant aid to ArcelorMittal through the PERTE for the decarbonization of the industry once the European Commission has already authorized the extraordinary grant of 460 million euros.
The company sees the union demands as unaffordable: they would raise the wage bill by 40%
The management of ArcelorMittal described yesterday as unaffordable the salary and labor claims of the unions. This was stated yesterday, according to union sources, by the representation of the company during a new meeting for the negotiation of the VIII framework agreement of the group in Spain. The management of the steel company understands that the demands of the labor representation would imply a 30% increase in the wage bill, to which must be added the 12% increase offered by the company for the validity of the agreement for five years, which It would imply, he pointed out, an increase in the wage bill of 40%. The unions alerted management that “negotiation time is running out and it is urgent to move forward.” UGT FICA maintained that it is not going to renounce “in any case” the salary revaluation with the consumer price index (CPI) and that the agreement includes the firm commitment of “investments that guarantee the future of the group’s plants throughout the national territory”. CC OO also demanded an improvement in salary and social conditions, given, he said, the “exorbitant benefits obtained.” The social part expressed the need to address the working day and the company offered to address this aspect, but with the aim of increasing its irregular distribution, raising it to 10% of the annual working day. In yesterday’s session it was agreed to resume the tables for the regulation of teleworking, registration of working hours and digital disconnection, as well as to agree on a wording of the paid leave that homogenizes its application throughout the group and that its enjoyment always begins the first working day after of the causal event.