U. S. Steel Announces Successful Start-Up of New Electric Arc Furnace at Its Alabama Facility

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, U. S. Steel announced the successful start-up of its newly constructed, technologically advanced electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking facility at its Fairfield, Alabama, operations. The EAF start-up is the latest milestone providing customer value through the company’s “Best of Both” integrated and mini-mill technology strategy.

Commenting on the start-up, U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt said, “The EAF significantly enhances our ability to deliver customer-centric solutions and results. We made a commitment to add electric arc steelmaking to our operating footprint as part of our ‘Best of Both’ strategy. This successful start-up delivers on that promise, and I am very pleased with the way our people safely accomplished this while navigating the disruptive influences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We had the added benefit of using this project as a tool for technical collaboration with the EAF experts at our ‘Best of Both’ partner, Big River Steel. Fairfield EAF #1 adds significantly more sustainable steelmaking technology to our portfolio.”

Of the announcement, U. S. Steel Senior Vice President – Tubular Products Douglas R. Matthews said, “I am proud of the Fairfield team for their perseverance and continued focus throughout the construction and start-up processes, especially on our core value of safety. We are excited to provide our customers with more sustainable tubular solutions, including our technically advanced proprietary connections, to support their efforts to safely extract and transport the resources necessary to power our daily lives.”

The EAF method of steelmaking utilizes electrical energy to melt a heat of steel. This process charges recycled steel scrap into the furnace, which is then heated by electric arcs; melting the scrap into liquid steel. In the start-up process, Fairfield EAF #1 commenced its first arc, charged and melted steel scrap, and on October 20, tapped its first heat of liquid steel.

The EAF will have an annual steelmaking capacity of 1.6 million tons. Video footage of the start-up is available on U. S. Steel’s YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/c/USSteelCorp or here.

Founded in 1901, the United States Steel Corporation is a Fortune 250 company and leading integrated steel producer. With extensive iron ore production and an annual raw steelmaking capability of 22 million net tons, U. S. Steel produces high value-added steel products for the automotive, infrastructure, appliance, container, and energy industries. The company’s “Best of Both” integrated and mini-mill technology strategy is advancing a more secure, sustainable future for U. S. Steel and its stakeholders. With renewed emphasis on innovation and customer focus, the company produces cutting-edge products such as U. S. Steel’s proprietary XG3™ advanced high-strength steel. U. S. Steel is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with world-class operations across the United States and in Central Europe. For more information, please visit www.ussteel.com.