ArcelorMittal's Low-Carbon Steel at Paris Olympics 2024

Paris, Jul 14 (PTI) ArcelorMittal, the steel major owned by Indian entrepreneur Lakshmi Mittal, is showcasing the various facets of its low-carbon steel partnership with the Olympics and Paralympics, kicking off in Paris later this month.

The Luxembourg-headquartered company revealed this week that its recycled and renewably-produced XCarb is behind the Torches that have been touring the world, the Olympic Rings that now adorn the French capital's iconic Eiffel Tower landmark and the Agitos symbol of the Paralympics atop the city's Arc de Triomphe.

The Paris Olympics 2024 is also setting a new milestone by reusing the Torches for the first time, with a significantly reduced carbon footprint with the production of just 2,000 required as opposed to 12,000 in the past.

“We think the Games are about sport, but they transcend sport,” Ian Louden, the Head of Brand for ArcelorMittal, told reporters in Paris.

“They go over and above sport itself, trying at least to bring together the world on a platform of equality and peace and shared belief. For example, for the very first time in Paris 2024, there are equal numbers of male and female athletes. As a leading global industrial company, we think this is exactly the kind of event in society that we should support,” he said.

The company previously tied up with the London 2012 Olympic Games, resulting in the ArcelorMittal Orbit designed by celebrated British Indian artist Anish Kapoor.

The Paris Games, opening on July 26 and running until August 11, involves the firm providing the steel and manufacturing knowhow for the Torch, designed by French artist Mathieu Lehanneur, and what is collectively referred to as the “Spectaculars” – the Olympic Rings and the Agitos – a project masterminded by engineer Professor Pierre Engel.

“This is the work of a big team, from the production of the steel in Chateauneuf in Burgundy to the lifting of the rings involving about 200 people,” said Professor Engel.

“We had to face several challenges and the first one was to decide the position, then imagine innovative lighting and, of course, the safety of a project involving such iconic landmarks of Paris,” he said.

Engel and his team worked at pace over the course of 18 months with a retired Army man in charge of keeping the timelines to military precision.

“We could not risk any drifting timelines associated with the construction industry with this project, with the date of the Games a definitive finishing line,” noted Engel.

Measuring 29 metres wide by 15 metres high, and positioned approximately 84 metres off the ground, in between the first and second floors of the Eiffel Tower, the Rings appear in their coloured form of red, blue, green, yellow and black – depicting the five continents of the world. At night, they are lit up in white “because you cannot light black”, explains Engel. The Agitos, meanwhile, depicted in red, blue and green, are lit up in colour 24/7.

“Being an official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supplier of the Torch gives ArcelorMittal an incredible opportunity to showcase the beauty, flexibility and potential of steel,” said CEO Aditya Mittal.

The company's XCarb products are made via the electric arc furnace route, using high levels of scrap steel and 100 per cent renewable energy. This means the carbon footprint of such products can be as low as approximately 300kg of CO2 per tonne of finished steel. The 2024 Olympic project was executed entirely in France and involved giving new life to scrap steel from end-of-life cars and washing machines.

The “Spectaculars” are expected to carry on their life well beyond the Olympic Games, with the city's Mayor wanting to keep them atop the landmarks at least till the end of the year and a second life expected for the next set of Games in France.

Meanwhile, Paris is busy getting spruced up for a grand opening ceremony on July 26, when the Torch will make its way down the River Seine to the Olympic Cauldron at a closely guarded secret location in the French capital.

“This global event, the most famous and engaging sports event in the world, resonates with the values that drive our group and all our employees around the world: the desire to constantly raise the bar; inclusion and diversity; and the quest for net zero, illustrated by the Paris 2024 ambition to limit its CO2 footprint,” added ArcelorMittal Chairman Lakshmi Mittal.