Recent statements highlight the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) potential to take the lead in the global industry’s shift toward green iron and steel, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
Libya has announced plans to become a supplier of direct reduced iron (DRI) in the Mediterranean basin and beyond unveiling a DRI complex to be built in the Benghazi region, following an earlier move by Brazilian iron ore giant Vale to expand its iron ore concentrate and agglomerate capacity in the MENA region via its mega hub concept.
These advancements align with the recent research from IEEFA. The Energy Finance Analyst, Soroush Basirat, from Global Steel at IEEFA, examined the competitive attributes that MENA takes advantage of, as the global iron and steel industry runs towards decarbonising its production. His latest briefing note provided a visualisation of the region’s advantages in this area, supported by significant projects in renewables, green hydrogen, and iron and steel. It also offers an overview of MENA’s existing capacities, providing context for these developments.
“MENA has one of the world’s fastest growing steel industries and is the leading hub for gas-based production of direct reduced iron (DRI),” says Basirat. “It also offers the flexibility to transition from fossil gas to green hydrogen, enabling even greater emissions cuts.”
MENA’s DRI capacity continues to expand. In 2023, it accounted for 45% of global DRI production, which is an 11% increase from 2021. This comes with several benefits to the region, such as access to high-grade feedstocks, treated as a barrier to decarbonising by other countries using DRI-EAF, while MENA enjoys reliable availability of iron ore concentrate and pellets from the same. This availability is expecting growth, further as a result of Vale’s expansion plans.
Alongside, MENA is said to be one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy markets and holds records for some of the cheapest renewable energy, supported by its unique solar and wind potential.
Source: https://ieefa.org/articles/mena-poised-lead-global-green-iron-and-steel-transition