Greener steel arrives in Canada to a market in turmoil and future unclear

TORONTO — Like some superhero channelling the power of lightning, Algoma Steel Inc. has started using the heat cast off by the arcs of powerful electric currents to make greener steel.

Electric arc furnaces are nothing new — the technology is more than a century old, and there’s already a few in Canada — but Algoma is calling the achievement of production from its first of the kind furnace last month a win as it faces an existential threat from U.S. tariffs.

“We have reached a truly pivotal milestone for Algoma and the Canadian steel industry,” said chief executive Michael Garcia on a recent earnings call.

“Despite the uncertainty that the trade war has unleashed, this achievement reinforces our confidence in our transformation strategy.”

Part of that strategy has been to dramaticall