Although steel production has been fueled by coal since the Industrial Revolution, the steel industry, like other industries, is transitioning to a future with significantly lower emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. However, the terms of this transition is not clear, and sometimes different expressions are used interchangeably, and sometimes the same word can be used in a “I think” and “you think” situation.
For example, the common “green steel” is a marketing term for some people, with no definition or scope, and can be used as you like.
But others believe that “green steel” is a certified term that covers the entire scope of sustainable development.
Although both are a bit extreme, how “green” can be called “green steel”?
Is the “green steel” I am talking about the same as the “clean steel” or “zero carbon steel” you are talking about?
Where is the dividing line between “net zero carbon steel”, “zero carbon steel” and “low carbon steel”?
If these ambiguities are not resolved, it is not difficult to imagine where the discussion will fall into.
To provide more clarity on the topics we discuss, worldsteel is standardizing the meaning of some terms.
“Low Carbon Steel”
In 2021, while most steel is still produced using fossil fuels as a reducing agent, many companies have or are developing technologies that can significantly reduce carbon emissions from core steelmaking processes, representing a new range of steel products - low carbon emission steel. For example:
ThyssenKrupp and Nippon Steel have launched a series of tests on the use of hydrogen in blast furnaces to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from steel production.
Emirates Steel in the United Arab Emirates captures 800,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from CO2-enriched coal gas produced in its ironmaking plants and then injects it into mature oil fields for permanent storage.
Hesteel Group , a leading steel company in China, is building a 1.2 million tonne/year hydrogen metallurgical direct reduced iron demonstration project. The project will use green and blue hydrogen technologies to explore a zero carbon emission route for steel production processes.
ArcelorMittal is building a large facility in Ghent, Belgium, to convert steel mill waste gas into ethanol, which has a wide range of uses, including synthetic fuels. In 2018, China's Shougang Group also began operating a similar commercial facility, producing 30 million liters of ethanol for sale in the first year.
Nucor Steel's small steel mill in Missouri, USA, is the first steel mill in the United States to use wind energy as an energy source. The plant is a cooperation project between Nucor Steel and the local utility company, and will supply electricity to the steel mill after the two parties reach a power purchase agreement.
Evraz Group's Rocky Mountain Steel company in Colorado, USA, is switching from coal to solar energy. It will be the country's largest on-site solar power plant dedicated to a single customer.
Brazil's Green Steel Company is using 100% charcoal to produce low-carbon steel products.
Tata Steel is developing new smelting and smelting technologies through the HIsarna project. HIsarna technology can produce iron without the use of coke ovens or sintering facilities, and produces CO2-enriched coal gas that is perfectly suited for CCS technology.
All steel produced using these new technologies can be considered low-carbon steel, although "low carbon" today may not mean the same thing as "low carbon" in 2050 as regulations, social expectations and technology change dramatically. There are different ways of referring to these new generation steels in the industry and related organizations, which are listed below. World Steel Association prefers to use "low-carbon steel" as we think it is more intuitive and clear, just like "low carbon electricity".
"Green Steel"
Going back to the question raised at the beginning of this article, many groups are also using and describing "green steel", usually when marketing new products with more environmental awareness. It mainly refers to steel produced using breakthrough technologies, steel produced from scrap steel, recycled and remanufactured steel, and traditional steel produced through the purchase of carbon emission quotas or carbon sinks.
In view of the uncertainty and diversity of the meaning of “green steel” itself, the worldsteel association will not use the term “green steel”.
“Zero carbon steel”
To produce true “zero carbon steel”, the steel production process must emit no CO2, and it is difficult to imagine that a production technology will be able to meet this stringent standard in 2024. Although many technologies are moving in this direction, “zero carbon” is too absolute. In the supply chain, residual carbon emissions may be generated due to the use of carbon-containing electrodes or natural gas in associated processes, which may not be achieved without the use of carbon sinks to offset residual carbon emissions.
Moreover, carbon is the core component of steel, which distinguishes steel from pure iron. Even if this alloyed carbon can be obtained from non-fossil energy, the presence of carbon is enough to show the inappropriateness of the term “zero carbon steel”.
"Net Zero Carbon Steel"/"Carbon Neutral Steel"
However, if the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere during steel production can be balanced with the emissions collected from the atmosphere using carbon sink facilities, then this steel can be called "net zero carbon steel" or "carbon neutral steel".
To achieve true carbon neutrality, the production of "net zero carbon steel" may need to be offset in other sectors. If the production company believes that it has achieved carbon neutrality, it must ensure the transparency of its production boundaries, the transparency of its statistical methodologies, and the high quality and credibility of the offset methods used.
"Zero Fossil Fuel Steel"
A few steel companies have begun to promote "zero fossil fuel steel". The so-called "zero fossil fuel steel" means that neither any fossil fuels (such as coal or natural gas) nor any fossil fuel-derived energy is used in the production process of steel.
All "zero fossil fuel steel" is low-carbon steel, but not all low-carbon steel can be called "zero fossil fuel steel". For example, for low carbon steel produced with carbon capture and storage (CCS), it may still use natural gas or coal, but emit no CO2. If biomass is used, it is important to ensure that the biomass is responsibly sourced to meet definition 1.
"Clean Steel"
"Clean Steel" is a term used in the steel industry to refer to steel with low levels of impurities, oxides, dopants, or steel with low or ultra-low levels of dissolved carbon in metals.
The term is already in common use, having been used by the World Steel Association in its 2004 Clean Steel Production Process Technology, and has a specific meaning. Therefore, the World Steel Association does not use the term "clean steel" in the context of climate change.
"Decarbonization"
In climate change conversations, society's need to decarbonize is often discussed. World Steel Association does not generally use the term "decarbonization" to refer to steel production, as only the emissions from the steel production process need to eliminate greenhouse gases/CO2, not the steel production process itself, which is similar to the reason for not using "zero carbon steel".
Many promising breakthrough technologies also use carbon as a chemical reducing agent, but prevent harmful greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere. So while our industry’s emissions will eventually be decarbonized, the ironmaking process itself may not be.
Breakthrough technologies
Breakthrough technologies produce low carbon steel in a fundamentally different way than traditional blast furnace, direct reduced iron or electric furnace technologies. Breakthrough technologies currently under development include: hydrogen reduction, CCS application, iron ore electrolysis, carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) packages and other new metallurgical reduction processes.
“Colorful” hydrogen
Hydrogen is a key catalyst that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the steel industry and is being explored by many of worldsteel’s member companies. Hydrogen is often given a colour based on its ability to reduce carbon emissions.
When worldsteel refers to low carbon hydrogen, we are referring to:
Green hydrogen: produced by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity.
Blue hydrogen: made from natural gas using a combination of steam methane reforming and CCS technology.
In addition, there is hydrogen produced by electrolysis using other low-carbon electricity (such as nuclear power), or hydrogen produced using CCS technology. We believe that these are also low-carbon hydrogen.
Fossil hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced using fossil fuels but without using carbon reduction processes, mainly including:
Grey hydrogen: Hydrogen produced from natural gas using steam methane reforming process; since this process does not use CCS technology, the carbon dioxide produced together will be discharged into the atmosphere.
Brown hydrogen or black hydrogen: Hydrogen produced using coal gasification technology, this color of hydrogen produces significantly higher greenhouse gases than other colors of hydrogen.
"Energy Efficiency Upgrade" project
The "Energy Efficiency Upgrade" project is a four-step efficiency assessment process developed by the World Steel Association. The project aims to improve the current steel production efficiency and help member companies reach the level of the world's best performance plants. The "Energy Efficiency Upgrade" project is a transitional plan and cannot provide the steel industry with a solution to the challenges of climate change.
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