Overview
- Three new production lines near Dunkirk are being brought online to make silicon-enriched electrical steel for EV motors, with output targeted at roughly 150,000–155,000 tonnes a year and two additional lines planned by mid-2027.
- ArcelorMittal calls the Mardyck project its biggest European investment in a decade, with reported costs varying between €500 million and €600 million in different accounts.
- The group says the site will add about 200 jobs to a workforce of 450, even as nationwide layoffs announced in April have been reduced from around 600 to roughly 260 through internal reorganization.
- The showcase follows the National Assembly’s vote to nationalize ArcelorMittal France, a proposal opposed by the government and seen as unlikely to pass in the Senate.
- A separate Dunkirk decarbonisation plan remains without a firm timetable as European demand weakens and cheaper Asian imports pressure prices, with EU trade measures under discussion this month and decisions expected in 2026.