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ArcelorMittal (MT) & LanzaTech Begin Production in CCU Facility

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ArcelorMittal S.A. (MT - Free Report) and LanzaTech Global Inc. announced that production at the former’s commercial flagship carbon capture and utilization (CCU) facility in Ghent, Belgium, has begun. The €200 million (roughly $216 million) Steelanol facility is a first of its kind for the European steel industry, employing technology created by LanzaTech, a leading carbon utilization firm.

The Steelanol facility has an annual capacity of 80 million liters of advanced ethanol, which is around half of Belgium's total current demand. It plans to cut carbon emissions from the Ghent facility by 125,000 tons annually, helping the EU meet its 2030 Climate Target Plan of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by the end of the decade. Primetals Technologies and E4tech are project partners backed by CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

Steelanol's Carbalyst ethanol processing method does not compete with food crops, unlike conventional ethanol production methods, because carbon is recycled.

Shares of ArcelorMittal have gained 0.9% over the past year compared with a 21.5% rise of its industry.

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The company, in May, said that apparent demand conditions improved once the destocking phase reached its maturity in the first quarter of 2023. Despite obstacles to real demand, the absence of further destocking is likely to maintain stronger apparent demand in 2023 than in 2022, the company noted.

The company estimates world apparent steel consumption, excluding China, to rise 2-3% year over year in 2023. ArcelorMittal also expects its steel shipments to grow roughly 5% in 2023.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

MT currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks to consider in the basic materials space include Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP - Free Report) , Gold Fields Limited (GFI - Free Report) and Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Koppers’ current-year earnings is currently pegged at $4.40, implying year-over-year growth of 6.3%. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 13.64%, on average. KOP has gained 34.6% in a year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Gold Fields’ current-year earnings has been revised 23.5% upward in the past 60 days. The consensus estimate for current-year earnings for GFI is currently pegged at $1.05, indicating year-over-year growth of 8.3%. The company’s shares have gained 61.8% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Linde’s current-year earnings has been revised 3.8% upward in the past 60 days. LIN beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.9%, on average. The company’s shares have gained 26.3% in the past year.

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