MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A major clean energy steel project that was expected to create hundreds of union construction jobs in southwest Ohio has been cancelled, dealing a blow to local labor and economic development.
Cleveland-Cliffs, a leading steel manufacturer, abandoned plans in June 2025 to invest $500 million into converting its Middletown plant from coal-based steel production to hydrogen-powered operations. The project, which would have been partially funded by a federal grant through the Inflation Reduction Act, was projected to generate 1,200 union construction jobs and safeguard 2,500 existing positions, according to WYSO 91.3.
The U.S. Department of Energy had awarded Cleveland-Cliffs the $500 million grant to support the plant’s transition to hydrogen steel-making, a key component of the Biden administration’s clean energy and climate goals. But the company has since pulled out of the project, reportedly citing rising tariffs on steel imports and growing uncertainty surrounding federal support for clean energy under the Trump administration.
According to Steel Industry News, Cleveland-Cliffs chose to “prioritize short-term profitability” in the face of increasing market instability and the rollback of clean energy incentives.
Union leaders say this decision reflects a broader concern for the future of jobs in the clean energy economy. Sheet metal workers, represented by the SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation) union, are heavily involved in constructing and maintaining renewable energy facilities, including hydrogen, nuclear, and battery plants.
Union leaders warned that recent cuts to clean energy funding and tax credits in federal spending legislation have already started to erode progress.
The project’s cancellation comes as a significant setback not only for union workers but also for the region’s hopes of becoming a hub for next-generation steel production and energy infrastructure.
According to its website, “Cleveland-Cliffs is a leading North America-based steel producer with focus on value-added sheet products, particularly for the automotive industry. The Company is vertically integrated from the mining of iron ore, production of pellets and direct reduced iron, and processing of ferrous scrap through primary steelmaking and downstream finishing, stamping, tooling, and tubing.
Cleveland-Cliffs is undergoing major restructuring, idling facilities, cutting projects, and narrowing its market focus in response to steep financial losses. Among the most significant impacts: the idling of the Weirton, West Virginia tin mill and the cancellation of a planned Weirton transformer plant affecting hundreds of workers across the region.
The company confirmed that between March and May 2025, six facilities were either fully or partially idled, including the historic Weirton tinplate plant, as part of a broader cost-cutting strategy. These moves followed a first-quarter loss of $483 million and an 11% drop in year-over-year revenue.
The Weirton tin mill, long a major employer in the Northern Panhandle, was shut down in April 2024 after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rejected the imposition of tariffs on foreign tin imports, a decision Cleveland-Cliffs said made continued domestic tinplate production unsustainable.
Adding to the economic blow for the area, Cleveland-Cliffs also announced it will no longer pursue the development of a transformer manufacturing facility in Weirton. That project had once been seen as a potential economic lifeline for the community, promising new investment and job creation.
The company is shifting its portfolio away from sectors it now deems non-core, including rail, high-carbon sheet, and specialty plate products, and instead concentrating resources on supplying steel to the automotive industry, a market Cleveland-Cliffs views as more stable and profitable.
