Hyundai Steel is building its first North American mill, and it picked the Mississippi River corridor to do it. The company’s $5.8 billion electric arc furnace plant is rising on a 1,700-acre site in the RiverPlex MegaPark near Donaldsonville, in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, with construction starting in 2026 and a target of running by 2029.
Project Scope
The mill will use an electric arc furnace to produce about 2.7 million metric tons of steel a year, with roughly 70% lower emissions than a conventional blast furnace. The project is projected to create 1,300 permanent jobs at an average starting salary near $95,000, plus about 4,800 construction jobs during the build. Hyundai is also partnering with River Parishes Community College and the state technical college system on a dedicated steel training center in Donaldsonville.
Why It Matters
U.S. steelmakers are adding capacity, and much of it is landing on the Gulf Coast for cheap power, river logistics, and proximity to auto and appliance customers. An EAF mill is the modern template: scrap-fed, electric, and far less carbon-intensive than the integrated mills it competes with. For Louisiana, a $5.8 billion foreign direct investment tied to 1,300 high-wage jobs is a heavy-industry win in a parish that has leaned on petrochemicals. The emissions math matters too. As automakers press suppliers on embodied carbon, lower-carbon domestic steel becomes a selling point, not just a compliance line.
Project Team & Details
| Owner / Client | Hyundai Steel |
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| Status | Under Construction |
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| Funding Source | Private |
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