US Steel plans Big River electrical steel line

Integrated steelmaker US Steel will build a 200,000 short ton (st)/yr non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line at its electric arc furnace (EAF) minimill steelmaking operations in Arkansas.

The $450mn investment at Osceola-based Big River Steel, which US Steel acquired at the beginning of the year, will target the electric vehicle (EV) industry. The facility will be built next to Big River Steel's finishing line and is expected to be online by the third quarter of 2023, according to an investor presentation.

US Steel highlighted EV investments and commitments by major automakers like Ford, GM and Toyota that are expected to be realized by 2025 as some of the drivers for the investment.

The investment could lead to NGO steel products making up 7pc of Big River Steel's product mix, with hot-rolled coil (HRC) products making up half, cold-rolled coil (CRC) 27pc, and hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coated products 16pc.

In the first quarter HRC products made up 60pc of the mix, HDG products 23pc, and CRC 17pc.

Funding for the project will come from Big River Steel's cash flow, with $50mn expected to be spent in 2021, $325mn in 2022, and $75mn in 2023.

By Rye Druzin