Updated 2023-07-03
Kanthal asked steel industry experts from the World Steel Association, the European Steel Association and the Austrian Mining and Steel Association how best to tackle the transition to a low-carbon future.
Åsa Ekdahl, World Steel Association
Åsa Ekdahl, Head of environment and climate change, World Steel Association.Åsa Ekdahl is the head of environment and climate change at the World Steel Association. She runs the Environment Committee and represents the industry at various international forums. She holds a master’s degree in physics, math and environmental science from the University of Gothenburg.
What do you see as the key sustainability challenges for the steel industry?
“Climate change and the transition to a low-carbon future are the biggest challenges – along with the circular economy, which represents both a challenge and a great opportunity.”
What role will electricity play in creating a green steel industry?
“Low-carbon electricity stands to play a crucial part, especially in hydrogen production and direct electrolysis but also in electric arc furnace (EAF) production for remelting scrap. We have so far mainly focused on the production of steel itself, but electricity can also help to reduce emissions from reheating furnaces, for example.
“For these technologies to be implemented and rolled out as fast as possible, availability and affordability of low-carbon electricity at the scale necessary will be critical.”
What is preventing the switch to a more sustainable steel industry, and can we start the transition now?
“I don’t think we should be waiting. Access to low-carbon electricity will be crucial for everything from EAF production to hydrogen production and electrolysis, as well as heating options. Many of these solutions can be implemented now and then transitioned to low-carbon electricity. For example, a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant can use natural gas and gradually shift to hydrogen from electrolysis, or blue hydrogen, when it becomes available.
“Producing low-carbon steel is initially going to be more expensive than conventionally produced steel. Policy support, such as supporting the market for low-carbon steel where customers are prepared to pay a premium, is needed to prevent a first-mover disadvantage.”
Dr. Roman Stiftner, Austrian Mining and Steel Association
Roman Stiftner, Managing Director, Austrian Mining and Steel Association and Austrian Non-Ferrous Metals Association.Roman Stiftner is the managing director of the Austrian Mining and Steel Association and the Austrian Non-Ferrous Metals Association. He is also secretary general of the European Mineral Resources Confederation (EUMICON). He holds a PhD in science, engineering sciences and economic geology from the Vienna University of Technology.
What do you see as the key sustainability challenges for the steel industry?
“The biggest challenge for the steel industry is to develop breakthrough technologies to make steel production carbon neutral. The two societal megatrends – digitalization and decarbonization – will lead to a massive increase in demand for raw materials, including steel.”
What role will electricity play in creating a green steel industry?
“Electric energy is becoming far more important. The Austrian steel industry is developing a technology that avoids greenhouse gas emissions when using the hydrogen route to produce carbon-free steel from iron ore. Fossil resources will be replaced by electricity and hydrogen, and enormous amounts of electric energy will be required for production of green hydrogen. “We also need sustainable technologies for furnace and application technologies in heat treatment, and we believe electric heating processes will play a more important role in the future.”
What is preventing the switch to a more sustainable steel industry?
“One key success factor is the development of the technologies for carbon-neutral steel; another is the supply of hydrogen and green electricity at competitive prices. Even though more than 70 percent of Austrian electricity is renewable, we need to further increase that share. “The transition to a carbon-lean future will rely on implementing the right conditions to meet the extreme challenges of capital costs in the multibillion-euro range and 35 to 100 percent higher operating costs. It will require a so-called Green Deal for Steel. The electricity infrastructure also needs to be made available.”
Charles de Lusignan, European Steel Association
Charles de Lusignan, Head of Communications, European Steel AssociationCharles de Lusignan has been the head of communications and spokesperson for the European Steel Association (EUROFER) since 2015. He studied economics and politics at the University of Sussex and holds a master’s degree in European economic studies from the College of Europe.
What do you see as the key sustainability challenges for the steel industry?
“European steel producers have halved their CO2 emissions and energy use since 1960, and the sector plans to achieve cuts of up to 80 to 95 percent by 2050, compared with 1990 levels. This will require significant investment in new technologies and energy infrastructure, along with access to high-quality materials.”
What role will electricity play in creating a green steel industry?
Energy is a key input as the European steel sector seeks to transition to a low-carbon future.
“Energy is a key input as the European steel sector seeks to transition to a low-carbon future. By 2050, the energy requirement of European steel producers is projected to be around 400 TWh/year, which is seven times its current demand from the electricity grid. Building new electricity infrastructure is challenging and there are a lot of bottlenecks, such as countries imposing restrictions on the expansion of wind power.”
What is preventing the switch to a more sustainable steel industry, and can we start the transition now?
“We need to act now, but it’s not possible to create a sustainable steel industry without access to renewable power. You could use natural gas or blue hydrogen in a DRI facility; EAF facilities will work with nonrenewable electricity, and you can cut CO2 by improving energy efficiency, but it won’t be as effective as using renewable energy. However, the widespread rollout of new technology at industrial scale is realistically not going to happen without support.
“We’ve been calling on the energy sector to make green energy more readily available, but we don’t make the power plants. Since the green steel we will produce by 2050 is set to be 35 to 100 percent more expensive than steels made using traditional methods, European low-carbon steel producers won’t be able to compete with carbon-intensive steel imported from other markets without a policy shift.”
