Fluence strikes deal with world’s largest crude steel producer ArcelorMittal

Wastewater treatment company Fluence Corporation (ASX: FLC) is going from strength to strength in expanding the reach of its decentralised water treatment systems.

Earlier today, the company announced a €3.9 million (A$6 million) contract to install a wastewater treatment and “waste-to-energy system” for ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest crude steel producer, accounting for 90 million tons of steel per year.

The deal is only the latest in a string of deal signed across the world including Argentina, the Philippines, Mexico, the US, and China – where Fluence has established a significant working partnership with several state-backed entities and private companies to help China achieve its so-called “13th five-year plan”.

Fluence currently offers an integrated range of services across the complete water cycle, from early-stage evaluation, through design and delivery to ongoing support and optimisation of water-related assets.

With established operations in North America, South America, the Middle East and Europe, Fluence has secured several deals that have expanded its reach into China’s rural wastewater treatment market.

Galvanising steel market potential

In its latest deal with ArcelorMittal, Fluence has been tasked with designing and building a wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy system at the company’s steel mill in Ghent, Belgium.

Fluence will use its proprietary anaerobic digestion technology to produce biogas from off-gas fermentation by-products thereby creating a sustainable and more efficient operation that is likely to assist ArcelorMittal in improving its operations and potentially raising its commercial margins.

If successful, the venture could potentially lead to Fluence being employed by other steel mills given the stark improvements to both performance and environmental sustainability offered by its range of water treatment technologies.

“This is the first application of a viable new business case where re-use of carbon is possible at large scale. We will achieve significant carbon reduction and we hope that this will lead us to a lower carbon economy. This new Carbon Smart technology illustrates ArcelorMittal’s commitment to transforming steel production and it will also further strengthen steel’s standing in the circular economy, particularly compared to other higher carbon metals like aluminium,” said Carl De Maré, vice president of ArcelorMittal.

Fluence says that by adding waste-to-energy treatment to the system, the biogas produced will be used to power the steel mill’s operations, which will in turn lower overall operating costs.

“Our highly experienced team has adapted our advanced anaerobic digestion technology for this new application, bringing even more value to our customers. We hope this milestone project will be the beginning of introducing Fluence’s capabilities for similar steel mill applications around the world. As part of our global product strategy, we have already sold a number of anaerobic systems developed by Fluence Italy in Europe and South America, including applications in the poultry and fish processing industries,” said Henry Charrabé, managing director and CEO of Fluence Corporation.

According to Fluence, its dedicated system is expected to be delivered, installed and operational onsite within 18 months.

News of the deal sent Fluence shares to $0.43 per share, up around 4% in morning trade.