Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA), environmental services company Veolia and Norwegian developing country investment fund Norfund have entered into a development agreement to advance a portfolio of practical, investable energy, water and resource-efficiency projects across AMSA’s operations.

The structured project development programme aims to convert identified decarbonisation and resource efficiency opportunities into technically sound, commercially viable and potentially bankable projects.

By combining AMSA’s industrial capabilities with Veolia’s technical and operating expertise and Norfund’s investment experience, the partnership will support the development of projects capable of attracting the capital and specialist expertise required for implementation, the organisations say.

These projects have the potential to strengthen AMSA’s operating resilience and cost position, with wider benefits for the competitiveness and sustainability of primary domestic steelmaking and South Africa’s industrial capability.

The initial priority projects include the recovery and use of blast furnace gas and the optimisation and modernisation of AMSA’s steam and power-generation infrastructure.

Capturing and reusing gases already produced during steelmaking will reduce flaring, lower reliance on externally bought fuel and improve the carbon and cost efficiency of AMSA’s operations, the steelmaker says.

Additionally, modernising steam and power infrastructure will improve energy performance, operational reliability and production resilience.

The collaboration will also assess opportunities in renewable energy, water optimisation, wastewater treatment, resource recovery and other energy and efficiency initiatives across AMSA’s operations.

“This partnership provides AMSA with a practical and disciplined pathway to develop projects that can improve the reliability and efficiency of our energy and utility systems, reduce resource losses and support our decarbonisation ambitions,” says AMSA primary operations COO Werner Venter.

“By combining AMSA’s industrial knowledge with Veolia’s technical and operating expertise and Norfund’s investment capability, we aim to advance credible, investable projects that strengthen the long-term competitiveness of our operations,” he says.

“This partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration to turn industrial decarbonisation opportunities into practical, investable solutions. By combining our technical and operational expertise with AMSA’s industrial capabilities and Norfund’s investment experience, we can help improve energy and resource efficiency, strengthen operational resilience and support the long-term competitiveness of South Africa’s steel industry,” says Veolia in Southern Africa CEO Thierry Witkowicz.

“This is also about strengthening environmental security by ensuring that access to energy, water and critical resources is more resilient, reliable and sustainable for industry and communities alike. This is an important step towards delivering meaningful environmental and economic benefits for South Africa,” he says.

“Norfund invests for the long term, and the Veolia–Norfund investment platform was set up precisely to turn opportunities like this into investable projects. Working alongside AMSA and Veolia, we can apply structured, disciplined project development to strengthen resource efficiency in industries, so promising ideas move from concept to bankable investment,” says Norfund senior investment manager John Shija.

Further, the integration of energy, water and resource management within a coordinated development programme reflects the Veolia–Norfund investment platform’s approach to sustainable industrial infrastructure in Africa.

The platform combines project development, technical capability, financing expertise and long-term operational experience.

The aim is also to contribute to the broader environmental security of South Africa by helping strengthen the resilience of essential resources and industrial systems in the face of growing environmental and climate-related pressures, he says.

The programme will now proceed through detailed technical, commercial, financial and environmental assessment. The objective is to build a credible portfolio of practical, financeable projects capable of improving resource efficiency, supporting decarbonisation and strengthening the environmental security and resilience of South Africa’s industrial sector, the organisations say.