23/02/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 23 February, the European Commission announced that it had authorised a German measure worth €1.3 billion, financed in part by the Recovery and Resilience Facility, to provide a direct subsidy to ArcelorMittal Bremen and ArcelorMittal Eisenhüttenstadt to help them partially decarbonise their steel production processes. The Group will invest in the construction of a direct reduction plant and three electric arc furnaces to replace two of the three existing blast furnaces and two of the four basic oxygen furnaces. These facilities are due to start operating in 2026. The measure was deemed to comply with European rules on State aid and, in particular, Article 107(3) c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the 2022 guidelines on State aid for climate, environmental protection and energy. (EV)