Planned Alabama steel facility gets extra $280M in federal funding

The planned steel manufacturing facility near Mobile got a major boost in funding earlier this week from the United States Department of Energy (DOE).

The DOE announced the project would receive $280.5 million in investment tax credits as part of the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit program. That program provides a tax credit of up to 30% for investments in advanced energy projects and is designed to support domestic, clean energy supply chains.

A facility is already currently in place but the new plans will allow for a different type of steel to be manufactured. Keep reading to find out more about what NOES is + why it helped the plant earn more funding.

$775M expansion project to build off current facility

The current facility is north of Mobile, up Highway 43 in Mt. Vernon and just off the Tombigbee River. The plant has served the North American market since 2010 with the capacity to produce 5.3 million tons of flat rolled carbon steel products annually.

It already includes a river terminal, hot strip mill, cold rolling mill, hot dip galvanizing lines, rail yard, and supporting infrastructure. Construction of a new Electric Arc Furnace is underway.

However, there are now expansion plans for the facility which is expected to create up to 260 permanent jobs and 1300 construction jobs during the project. Gov. Kay Ivey helped announce the $775 million expansion project three years ago.

The plans include:

• Annealing pickling line
• Cold-rolling mill
• Annealing coating line
• Packaging and slitter line
• Ancillary equipment

The new NOES facility will be near the currently facility shared between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corp. A groundbreaking was held in 2021.

Why Calvert’s facility was chosen for the funding

The ArcelorMittal facility in Calvert—which is considered a clean energy project—is planned to deliver 150,000 metric tons of non-grain-oriented electric steel (NOES) every year.

The company says that type of steel plays a big role in the performance of electric motors that are used to power electric and hybrid vehicles. The new facility is expected to fill a crucial market need to address the country’s dependency on importing NOES.

“The planned facility aims to significantly reduce the U.S.’s dependency on NOES imports. This strategic domestic production would ensure that U.S. industries aren’t susceptible to overseas supply chain disruptions. It also underlines our commitment to be the technology leader for our customers by providing the most demanding e-motors products for US and other OEMs.”

~ Peter LeBlanc, CMO, ArcelorMittal North America

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