Permission granted for Electric Arc Furnace to be built on Teesside
British Steel has been granted planning permission to build an electric arc furnace at its Teesside plant.
Plans to build an electric arc furnace (EAF) at British Steel's Teesside plant are a step closer, after Redcar and Cleveland Council gave planning permission today.
It's after a consultation period on the topic.
The company said the development is a key milestone in its ÂŁ1.25 billion de-carbonisation plan.
British Steel said its proposed transformation is the biggest in more than a century of steelmaking and is subject to "appropriate support" from the Government.
British Steel president and chief executive Xijun Cao said: "The proposed installation of EAFs in Scunthorpe and Teesside is central to our journey to a green future.
"Our owner, Jingye, is committed to the unprecedented investment decarbonisation requires."
British Steel said preparation works, including environmental and technical studies and equipment selection, are under way to ensure its proposals can be delivered at the earliest opportunity while discussions with the Government continue.
"Our desire to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, coupled with challenging market conditions, means imperative, swift and decisive action is taken to ensure a sustainable future for British Steel.
"We are committed to working with the UK Government and need to reach an agreement quickly so we can achieve our ambitious goals."
Both proposed EAFs would replace the ageing iron and steelmaking operations at British Steel's Scunthorpe site which are responsible for the vast majority of its CO2 emissions.
The company added that it proposes maintaining current operations until a transition to electric arc steelmaking.