Hyundai Steel and POSCO break ground on Louisiana Steel Mill

South Korea's Hyundai Steel and POSCO have broken ground on a US$5.8 billion low-carbon steel mill in Louisiana, marking the official start of a project aimed at establishing a localized automotive steel supply chain in North America, according to media reports. The facility is expected to begin mass production in early 2029.

The Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel (HPLS) plant, located in Donaldsonville, will have an annual production capacity of 2.7 million metric tonnes of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized steel. Of that total, approximately 1.8 million metric tonnes will be designated for automotive applications, while the remaining 900,000 metric tonnes will serve general industrial uses.

The integrated facility will combine direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) technologies---a configuration that Hyundai Steel says will reduce carbon emissions by about 70% compared with traditional blast furnace-based steelmaking. The company noted that the plant will be the first EAF-based mill in the United States dedicated exclusively to automotive sheet production.

The steel produced at the facility will initially support manufacturing operations for Hyundai Motor and Kia, as well as other automakers in the southern U.S. and Mexico. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung added that the company also sees future demand for the plant's low-carbon steel from sectors including humanoid robots, AI data centres, power generation facilities, and aerospace applications.