Cleveland-Cliffs CLF.N said on Friday it would match a $500 million U.S. Department of Energy grant, bringing total investment to $1 billion to upgrade the steelmaker’s Middletown Works plant.
The move rescopes the $500 million grant Cliffs received in 2024 to decarbonize its Middletown, Ohio facility by replacing the existing blast furnace with a hydrogen-ready direct reduced iron plant and two electric melting furnaces.
The project now includes the construction of a cogeneration facility to capture blast furnace gas and generate electricity and steam for on-site consumption, the company said.
The rebuild of the facility, which is expected to employ more than 1,500 workers including local union building trades, is planned for completion in the first quarter of 2030.
The plant currently produces approximately 3 million tons of raw steel annually and provides automotive-grade steels suited for the exposed parts of cars, trucks and SUVs.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
