On Monday April 13, ArcelorMittal Dofasco closed the smallest of its two remaining coal processing (coke) plants. Before April 13, Dofasco operated two coke plants, No. 2 and No. 3. On Monday it closed coke plant No. 3. If you're wondering what happened to coke plant No. 1, Dofasco closed it in 2015 and was supposed to demolish it in 2023 to start building clean steel facilities in its place.

The good news: this will improve air quality in Hamilton, and Dofasco will not be sinking millions of dollars into refurbishing an outdated coke plant.

The bad news: nothing in the company’s communications about the closure indicates that it is serious about phasing out coal any time soon. ArcelorMittal Dofasco will simply buy coke from other producers and continue with its distinction as Ontario's single largest source of carbon emissions. Additionally, based on Dofasco's Environmental Compliance Approval and reporting from The Hamilton Spectator, coke plant No. 3 only accounted for ~30% of Dofasco's coke production, so a sizeable amount remains in operation.

There are now two remaining coke plants in the city (one each at Dofasco and Stelco) and three blast furnaces (all at Dofasco). More action is necessary to eliminate the hazardous air contaminants and greenhouse gases produced from these remaining fossil fuel steel facilities and bring clean steel to Hamilton. A true clean steel strategy requires investments to replace fossil-fuel-dependent steelmaking with Electric Arc Furnaces complemented by clean-energy-powered Direct Reduced Iron facilities. This is the only way to guarantee a future of good, clean jobs for Canada’s steel industry.

Dofasco has operated one Electric Arc Furnace in Hamilton since 1996, which produces about one-third of the plant’s total output. It has the technical knowledge to transition away form coal like it announced back in 2021. Federal and provincial governments have committed $950 million to support this transition. We have to keep the pressure on Dofasco to make sure it holds up its end of the bargain, and we have to keep the pressure on the federal and provincial governments to support workers in the transition.

For a more detailed timeline of events since Dofasco's coal phase-out project announcement in 2021, see the blog post linked here: Timeline of Events: ArcelorMittal Dofasco's Decarbonization Project

To see Environmental Defense's press release related to the coke plant closure, see the link here: Dofasco Shuts Coke Plant but Remains Silent on Decarbonization Project