ArcelorMittal France is preparing to launch a new electrical steel production line in Mardyck – the largest ArcelorMittal investment in Europe in the past 10 years.
Electrical steels: energy in motion
As all industries seek ways to achieve more with less energy, electrical steels are a key part of the solution. They are an essential component in all types of electric motors (particularly in e-mobility solutions), helping to generate energy efficiently and transform it into motion.
Electrical steels are ultra-thin rolled steels (as thin as 0.2 millimetres) treated to give them specific magnetic and mechanical properties. High polarisation maximises motor performance. Low losses improve vehicle autonomy. And high yield strength ensures mechanical resistance to motor rotation so equipment can perform over a longer lifespan.
Our electric steels are used in everything from electric vehicles to wind turbines to AI data centres – another example of how ArcelorMittal is powering the next generation of sustainable technology.
Boosting capacity for customers
Demand is growing – and our new production line in Mardyck is ready to meet it. This US$500m investment is a strategic project for ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products, expanding our electrical steel offering to supercharge electric motor development in the automotive, energy and wider industrial sectors.
Built on our existing industrial site in Mardyck, near Dunkirk, the new unit complements our established electrical steels plant in Saint-Chély-d’Apcher. The combined capacity will boost our electrical steel production in Europe to 295,000 tonnes a year.
The new unit’s first three lines will be up and running by the end of 2025 – and this milestone is just the beginning. By 2027, five new production lines will be operational at the site. While the start-up of the three Phase 1 lines is imminent (the preparation line, annealing-coating line and slitting line), civil engineering work for Phase 2 of the project (the annealing-pickling line and reversible rolling mill) is already underway.
Bruno Ribo, CEO of ArcelorMittal France, says: "Creating new production lines is an exceptional experience in the life of an industrial site. It is just as exceptional for our employees, who have witnessed the development of these lines from project mode to operational mode. Like them, I will feel great emotion when the first of the 155,000 tonnes of electrical steel we will ultimately deliver each year comes off the lines."
Three new lines. One dedicated team.
Construction of Phase 1 lines is now complete. This has involved rehabilitating old industrial halls and building new infrastructure. Safety is our top priority at ArcelorMittal, which is why we have completed this work to the highest safety standards – without compromise.
Around 400 people have stepped up to make this project a success – from constructing the lines to testing them ready for operation. We are also grateful to the 300+ external companies that have contributed their skills and expertise.
Today, 175 people work in the electrical steel unit at the Mardyck and Dunkirk industrial sites. They operate and maintain the installations, and support the essential needs of the new unit around quality and products, energy and digital transformation. Once we have delivered Phase 2 of the project, this electrical steel unit will employ 200 people in total.
The new lines are managed by Gaëlle Le Papillon, Department Head, who says: "This is an enormous challenge, both technological and human: we are commissioning a complete production line that is becoming an industrial reality. To build the new teams, we relied on existing skills within ArcelorMittal France and also recruited externally. All employees have been trained in our processes and safety culture. In total, more than 12,000 hours of training have been provided to teams, on the Mardyck site lines or at Saint-Chély-d’Apcher".
An ecosystem of excellence
This investment by ArcelorMittal has been supported by €25 million from the French State under the France 2030 programme.
The Dunkirk and Hauts-de-France regions form a growing hub for the electromobility sector. Our electrical steel plants place ArcelorMittal at the heart of the action. All of ArcelorMittal’s electrical steels in Europe will be produced in France, strengthening the French ecosystem around electromobility and our own ability to support customers in the transition to sustainable energy.