Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said he is considering sidelining plans to use hydrogen in steelmaking, including passing up a $500m loan from the DOE, according to a news report.
Goncalves told POLITICO he has been unable to persuade buyers in the automotive sector to pay the premium for green steel.
The company would have to pay an additional $1.1bn beyond the DOE loan to convert its Middletown facility to hydrogen use, he said.
Cleveland-Cliffs later issued a statement reaffirming its commitment to the Middletown project. It said its net capital outlay for the project would be $1.3bn, net of capital avoidance on the existing blast furnace and coke plants over a five-year period starting in 2025.
