WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Cleveland-Cliffs $500 million toward a $1 billion modernization of its Ohio steel plant after the company abandoned an earlier project because customers were unwilling to pay higher prices for lower-emission steel.
The revised investment will rebuild and upgrade the existing coal-fired blast furnace at Cleveland-Cliffs’ Middletown Works, protecting approximately 2,300 jobs and preserving a domestic steel supply serving automotive, appliance and other manufacturers.
Cleveland-Cliffs determined that its original project no longer made financial sense because customers would not accept a “green premium” for steel, according to the Energy Department…