A survey of 18 major steelmakers revealed that many are lagging in the transition to low-carbon production, with some still relying entirely on fossil fuels for their energy needs, reported by Reuters.
Steel production accounts for 7% of global Carbon dioxide emissions, roughly equivalent to India’s total emissions, with coal-fired blast furnaces generating 2 metric tons of CO2 for every ton of steel produced.
Alternative technologies, such as electric arc furnaces (EAFs) powered by renewable energy, are available, and initiatives are underway to replace coal with “green hydrogen” in iron production.
But some of the industry’s biggest names still relied on fossil fuels for 99% of their energy over 2022-2023, the Sydney-based climate group Action Speaks Louder (ASL) said.
“Steel is considered a ‘hard to abate’ sector, but the main obstacle is affordability,” said Laura Kelly, ASL’s strategy director and the survey’s author.
The best performer was Sweden’s SSAB which sourced 19% of its energy from renewables, while some of the biggest laggards were in South Korea.
Despite producing large quantities of steel using electric arc furnaces (EAFs), Hyundai Steel, Dongkuk Steel, and Posco have almost no use of renewable energy, with their share of renewables in energy consumption remaining at zero or close to zero.
JSW Steel sourced just 0.4% of its energy from renewables in 2022 but aims to run all its operations on clean energy and waste gas by 2030, according to Chief Sustainability Officer Prabodha Acharya.
China’s Baosteel also relied on renewables for 0.4% of its energy last year and is setting new clean energy targets. As carbon pricing policies take effect, steelmakers face growing pressure to adopt cleaner energy.