Successful carbon capture trial at ArcelorMittal Gent shows potential to significantly reduce CO2 intensity in steel production

Key takeaways

• A 90%+ CO₂ capture pilot at ArcelorMittal’s Gent plant shows the technology can cut blast furnace emissions by up to 24%, paving the way for near‑zero steelmaking.
• 90% CO₂ capture rate
• 4,500 hours of operation
• up to 24% CO₂ intensity reduction at blast furnace

What happened

ArcelorMittal, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, BHP and Mitsubishi Development ran a pilot carbon‑capture test at the Gent steel plant in Belgium, capturing more than 90% of CO₂ from blast furnace gas over 4,500 hours of operation. The trial used MHI’s Advanced KM CDR Process™ and showed that full‑scale deployment could cut the plant’s CO₂ intensity by up to 24% at the blast furnace level and potentially move the site toward near‑zero emissions if applied across multiple points.

Why it matters

The steel industry is a major source of global CO₂, with blast furnaces accounting for about 70% of production. Demonstrating high‑efficiency capture in a real plant gives a credible pathway to reduce emissions in a sector that is hard to decarbonise. It also provides engineering data that can accelerate commercial…

Short-term and longer-term

Short-term. Over the next few days, watch for any updates on Phase 2 rollout and any cost estimates that could affect the project’s economics.

Longer-term. In the coming months, the trial’s results could influence ArcelorMittal’s long‑term decarbonisation strategy and its ability to meet near‑zero intensity targets.