US Steel Corporation and CarbonFree Chemicals Holdings have signed a memorandum of understanding to capture carbon dioxide at the former’s Gary Works, one of the largest integrated steel mills in North America.

CarbonFree’s technology SkyCycle, which captures CO₂, converts it into precipitated calcium carbonate and produces hydrochloric acid as a co-product, will be employed at the works, and the venture will presumably tap into carbon tax credits to further improve the cost-benefit of the project. Should the installation go ahead, it would aim to capture 50,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, with the decision to enter a definitive agreement to occur later this year, and operations pencilled in to commence in 2025. There may also be further collaboration at other steel plants.

The Gary Works has a capacity of 7.5 million net tonnes of raw steel per year, suggesting the carbon dioxide utilisation project will only cover a small fraction of the total CO₂ produced at the plant.