ArcelorMittal Acquires John Lawrie Metals to Increase Sustainable Steel Production

(Credit: ArcelorMittal)

As part of a strategy to increase the use of scrap steel to lower carbon emissions from its production, ArcelorMittal has acquired recycling company John Lawrie Metals.

John Lawrie Metals is based in Aberdeen, Scotland, and has three other sites in the country. The deal was completed on Feb. 28 and terms were not disclosed.

ArcelorMittal says John Lawrie Metals has access to a range of quality scrap steel from the United Kingdom’s oil and gas industry. The company sources nearly half its materials from the oil and gas market.

Much of that comes from the decommissioning of wells in the North Sea increasing due to energy transitions, ArcelorMittal says, and the company expects the supply of scrap to grow significantly over the next decade.

Increasing the use of scrap steel in both electric arc furnace and blast furnace processes in steelmaking is one of the five key components of ArcelorMittal’s decarbonization roadmap. Improving blast furnaces, energy uses, implementing clean electricity and offsetting residual emissions are the others.

With steelmaking an emissions intensive process, many endeavors are taking place to make it more sustainable. There are efforts with green hydrogen to use it as an energy source in steel production, as well as developing sustainable manufacturing sites that use electric blast furnaces, such as one being developed by US Steel in Arkansas.

Companies such as Nucor are producing carbon neutral steel with 100% renewable electricity and carbon offsets. Automakers like BMW are increasing the use of green and recycled steel in production.

ArcelorMittal also has a green steel program to help customers reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

John Lawrie Metals has two steel tubular supply operations in the United States and the UK but it was not known if they are part of the deal, according to Argus Media. John Lawrie Metals will continue to be run by its current management team.

“We have identified strong potential for growth in the ferrous scrap processing business, with demand growth in Europe facilitated by the European Union’s initiatives to achieve higher metal recycling rates, reduce CO2 emissions and underpin the EU’s net-zero ambitions,” says Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO ArcelorMittal Europe.