(Bloomberg) -- British Steel said it plans to close its two blast furnaces as part of a move to greener production if it can secure government funding.

The Scunthorpe-based steelmaker, which is owned by China’s Jingye Group, said in a statement Monday it was proposing to replace its current facilities with electric arc furnaces. The investment would cost £1.25 billion ($1.5 billion) and be subject to “appropriate” government support, according to the statement.

“We can’t wait and need to transform our business as quickly as possible,” Chief Executive Officer Xijun Cao said in a statement. “We remain in talks with the government.”

The move could mean the end of the blast furnace in the UK, which at the height of the Industrial Revolution dominated world steel production. While the steelmaking method — which uses coking coal to reduce iron ore — has formed the bulk of world supply for decades, it faces becoming obsolete due to carbon taxation.

The UK government reached a £500 million deal with Tata Steel Ltd. earlier this year to help fund its transition to greener steelmaking. The Indian company runs Britain’s only other blast furnaces at its Port Talbot site in south Wales.

Electric arc furnaces, or EAFs, melt down scrap steel and other materials in a process that leads to less carbon emissions than coal-fired blast furnaces. However, it’s less labor intensive as it outsources the production of iron from the metal’s ore.

The plan to close blast furnaces without installing alternative iron-making facilities has been vehemently opposed by UK unions over potential job losses. The change to EAF-based production at Port Talbot alone is likely to involve about 3,000 layoffs, Bloomberg reported last week.

British Steel has been in talks with the government over support to upgrade its operations. The firm was offered about £300 million in taxpayer funding, but wanted an amount closer to the £500 million secured by Tata Steel, the Financial Times reported citing unnamed government officials.

“We have offered a generous support package including more than £300 million of investment for British Steel to cut emissions,” a government spokesperson said on Monday. “Ultimately, it is for British Steel to manage commercial decisions for the future of the company.”

The proposals released by British Steel would involve installing electric arc furnaces at sites in Scunthorpe and Teesside. Currently both of its blast furnaces are in Scunthorpe.

--With assistance from Ellen Milligan.

(Updates with additional comments, details throughout.)

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