Dive Brief:
- A Hyundai Steel mill coming to Louisiana is facing pushback from local residents and advocacy groups concerned about the project’s expedited approval process and potential emissions impacts.
- The Sierra Club, United Steelworkers and other organizers argue the state is rushing the $5.8 billion project with limited public input. They have called on the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to extend the public comment period for Hyundai Steel’s air quality permit from 30 days to 60 days due to its 2,165-page length.
- The agency on Tuesday extended the window by 13 days to end Sept. 15 following community pushback. The move also raised questions about when Hyundai Steel plans to begin construction. The company was scheduled to break ground on Sept. 4, according to local media reports. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dive Insight:
In March 2025, Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of brands such as Kia, Hyundai and Genesis, said it would build its first U.S. steel plant in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, to bring materials production closer to its automotive factories in Georgia and Alabama. President Donald Trump, Hyundai Executive Chairman Euisun Chung and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry jointly announced the project from the White House at the time.
The facility, once completed, will be capable of producing 2.7 million tons of steel per year from recycled scrap using electric arc furnace technology, according to Hyundai’s plans. It is also expected to create more than 1,300 jobs. The project was part of a $21 billion commitment from the South Korea-based automaker to bolster its U.S. operations.
The project has come under significant legal and environmental scrutiny. Louisiana offered an incentives package to Hyundai worth roughly $2.6 billion, or about half of the project’s cost, according to records obtained by New Orleans newspaper The Times-Picayune this summer. The deal included sales and property tax breaks, direct cash payments, free land and a $300 million electric bill discount from Entergy Louisiana. It also reportedly happened in secrecy via nondisclosure agreements.
A local judge recently dismissed a challenge from activist groups Rural Roots Louisiana and Louisiana Bucket Brigade, who claimed residents did not have the opportunity to raise concerns about the project because negotiations were conducted in secret and withheld from the public, ABC-affiliate WBRZ reported last week. Other lawsuits related to how the state government has handled the project are pending.
Despite these challenges and an open public comment period for Hyundai Steel’s air quality permit, organizers said they believe the company still plans to break ground on Friday.
“The message that sends is we’re going to move forward, whether you like it or not,” Jacob Horwitz, an organizer with the United Steelworkers union, said in an interview with Manufacturing Dive on Monday. “That’s just a bad way of practicing.”
He said the United Steelworkers supports responsible investment in new industries, but “economic development should not come at the expense of worker protections, public health or community accountability.”
Organizers and residents at a public hearing Tuesday questioned the terms of Hyundai Steel’s air permit. Hyundai has committed to producing steel with low emissions technology. However, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups pointed out that the permit allows indefinite methane gas pollution and lacks a timeline or interim requirements for the transition to green hydrogen.
Horwitz said local residents also want guarantees that the 1,300 promised jobs won’t get whittled away by subcontracting, outsourcing or even robots. At its investor day, Hyundai last week outlined its plans to become a physical AI and technology company following its acquisition of robotics maker Boston Dynamics.
“What does that mean for residents of Louisiana who have really been sold this idea that this is going to generate game-changing job opportunities for the community?” he said.
