Algoma EAF is up and running

Algoma Steel Group Inc. has produced its first steel at Unit One of its newly installed electric arc furnace (EAF) production line.

“The milestone follows over 10 days of successful electric arc testing and tuning, including individual and tandem tests of all nine Q-One transformer modules,” the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker says.

The Algoma site has long hosted blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace steelmaking production.

In 2021, the campus was acquired through a specialty acquisition corporation, with the leaders of that group quickly signaling they intended to replace or bolster the blast furnace technology with EAF equipment.

Algoma now says it is a leading Canadian producer of hot- and cold-rolled steel sheet and plate products.

The new recycled-content production capacity comes online, however, when the administration of President Donald Trump has placed tariffs at a growing rate against steel imported into the United States from Canada.

“U.S. tariffs and threatened additional tariffs on steel and aluminum continue to affect market prices, although they have stabilized after rising in early 2025,” Algoma said in an investor presentation this April.

This week, however, Trump stated he intends to raise the tariff rate on all inbound Canadian goods to 35 percent, separate from sectoral tariffs.

With the first EAF melt completed, Algoma says it is positioned “to better meet the evolving needs of its customers through the production of green steel—with the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 70 percent.”

“We are proud to have reached this critical milestone in what is the largest industrial decarbonization project in Canada,” Algoma Steel President and CEO Michael Garcia says.

“This moment reflects years of careful planning, disciplined execution, and extraordinary effort since we broke ground in November 2021. Bringing the first EAF online during a period of trade uncertainty underscores our determination to innovate and lead, opening new opportunities as we begin to realize the full potential of EAF steel production.”

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Algoma also has announced that all steel produced by its EAF technology will carry the Volta name.

“Powered by Ontario’s clean electricity grid, Volta is expected to reduce our carbon footprint by up to 70 percent and help fuel the growth of the low-carbon economy,” the firm says, which adds the name Volta pays tribute to Alessandro Volta, who first harnessed electricity in 1800.