The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs has expressed regret over ArcelorMittal's decision not to accept state funding for the development of climate-friendly steel production.
"This is a private-sector decision by the company," a ministry spokesperson said on Friday. "No funds have been disbursed yet. Therefore, there is no money that needs to be reclaimed."
Just over a year ago, the federal government and the state of Bremen had offered the steel giant a total of nearly €1.3 billion in funding, with Bremen's share amounting to just over €250 million. In addition to the ArcelorMittal project, there are three other major comparable initiatives. According to the ministry, projects by Salzgitter, Thyssenkrupp, and SHS (Stahl-Holding-Saar) have collectively received funding approvals totaling around €5.6 billion. Implementation of these projects is already underway. Former Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) played a key role in advancing support for these large-scale projects.
(Reporting by Christian Krämer. Edited by Kerstin Dörr. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
