Hyundai moves forward on Louisiana EAF mill

Plans are moving ahead for the construction of an electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Louisiana that will be operated by the Hyundai Steel business unit of South Korean conglomerate Hyundai, which also operates the Hyundai Motor Co. assembly plants in the United States.

Hyundai Steel announced in March 2025 plans to build an EAF mill in the U.S. with 2.7 million metric tons of annual capacity.

The company currently assembles Hyundai vehicles at sites in Montgomery, Alabama, and Kia-branded vehicles in West Point, Georgia, and imports considerable amounts of steel to supply those facilities.

Several media outlets in Louisiana have reported that the state government has purchased a 1,700-acre site in Ascension Parish for $91 million to host the planned $5.8 billion mill, citing a filing in the southern Louisiana parish (county) court.

Those same reports indicate the closing of that transaction by 2025 was a step in a process that might not see the EAF mill come online until 2030.

Hyundai also has agreed to purchase $650 million in steelmaking and direct-reduced iron (DRI) production equipment from Italy-based Danieli & C. S.p.A., according to a news release.

Danieli says it has been tapped with supplying the four production units that will turn iron ore into high-quality steel hot slabs, intended for the production of high-value-added materials essential for supplying Hyundai Motors’ existing facilities in the country.

Technologies comprising the transaction include an Energiron DRI plant, two EAFs with related secondary metallurgy, two thick slab casters and two slab reheating furnaces. The DRI plant to be deployed was developed jointly with fellow Italian company Tenova S.p.A.

Like earlier announcements about the planned mill complex, the Danieli news release does not mention the potential use of scrap at the Louisiana complex, although EAFs typically have the ability to consume recycled steel.

The Hyundai project in Louisiana gained additional attention this week when Business Facilities magazine awarded the project as its Platinum Award winner for 2025.

“Louisiana is a force in the industries that power America’s economy,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry says.  “Our workforce, our business climate and our commitment to growth are giving companies every reason to invest here with confidence.”