Luxembourg-based steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal has reportedly agreed a deal with French officials to invest €1.8bn ($1.97bn) to cut greenhouse emissions at its steel plant in Dunkirk, northern France.

According to the officials, cited by Reuters yesterday (14 January), the French government will offer ArcelorMittal a subsidy package of up to €850m. The package was cleared by the European Commission in July last year, alongside €2bn in aid for ThyssenKrupp, a German engineering and steel producer with over €41bn in revenue in 2022.

The financial stimulus will help ArcelorMittal buy electric furnaces and build a direct reduction plant. The move will cut French carbon emissions from the industrial sector by 5.7%, it is claimed.

ArcelorMittal is a metals and minerals giant known for its prolific international expansions. According to GlobalData’s FDI Projects Database, the company has been the most active greenfield investor in the metals and minerals sector in the past four years.

Greenfield investment takes place when a company establishes a new physical presence or expands an existing operation abroad. Between Q1 2019 and Q3 2023, 64.4% of ArcelorMittal’s direct investments went into the iron, steel and ferroalloys subsector.