ArcelorMittal S.A. MT announced a $5-million investment in Utility Global through its XCarb Innovation Fund, which was launched in 2021. The fund backs companies that develop breakthrough technologies aimed at decarbonizing steel production. This investment forms part of Utility Global's $53 million Series C funding round, led by Ontario Power Generation.

Utility Global developed a patented reactor capable of processing variable industrial gases without electricity, converting them into high-purity hydrogen and a concentrated CO2 stream. Hydrogen can be used to replace natural gas in steelmaking. At the same time, the concentrated CO2 stream facilitates easier and more cost-effective carbon capture and storage — key to reducing emissions in the steel industry.

ArcelorMittal Price and Consensus

ArcelorMittal price-consensus-chart | ArcelorMittal Quote

In addition to the financial investment, MT entered into a collaboration agreement with Utility Global to expedite the adoption of this technology. The partnership includes plans to explore pilot projects at ArcelorMittal facilities, with the potential to scale up to full commercial deployment at one of its integrated steel plants.

XCarb Innovation Fund highlighted the importance of cost-effective and scalable solutions for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors like steel, noting that Utility Global’s eXERO technology meets both criteria.

This latest investment adds to the Innovation Fund’s growing portfolio, which spans a variety of decarbonization technologies, including renewable energy, long-duration energy storage, carbon capture, green hydrogen, nuclear energy, molten oxide electrolysis and biochar production. The Fund is also a key partner in Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst program, committing $100 million over five years.

The stock has inched up 1.1% in the past year against the industry’s 6.4% fall.

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MT’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ArcelorMittal currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are IAMGOLD Corporation IAG, Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO and Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IAMGOLD’scurrent-year earnings is pegged at 41 cents per share, indicating a rise of 355.6% from the year-ago level. IAG’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in each trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 200%. The stock has surged nearly 165.7% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eldorado Gold’s current year earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 136.8%. EGO beat the consensus estimate in each trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 430.3%. The company's shares have surged nearly 103.3% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Carpenter Technology’scurrent-year earnings is pegged at $6.09 per share, indicating a rise of 28.5% from the year-ago level. CRS’ earnings beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 15.9%. The stock has skyrocketed nearly 135.9% in the past year.

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