A German think tank has suggested the timeline for the decarbonisation of the steel industry could be achieved much faster than otherwise thought, as BlueScope continues to mull the future of steelmaking in the Illawarra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The updated pathway would assist in the worldwide push to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees but would require significant government planning and investment, along with support from private enterprise.
Report lead author Wido Witecka said steelmakers in Europe and North America were preparing to build net-zero ready steelworks as older blast furnaces are retired.
"The key technologies are ready, we're seeing the first final investment decisions in Europe, in Canada and there are solutions to build these net-zero compatible plants," he said.
"They require some enabling conditions, but we see in other jurisdictions, other regions, that it is possible to build these plants."
The report's optimal pathway involves greater efficiency in the use of steel, using more scrap-based steelmaking, the faster deployment of hydrogen-powered green steel production and the limited deployment of bioenergy and carbon capture and storage.
This would see coal no longer used in steelmaking by 2045.
BlueScope is currently preparing the business case for a $1 billion investment in a traditional coal fired blast furnace at the Port Kembla steelworks, which the ASX-listed company says will be a testing ground for the future deployment of 'green steel' technologies.
In New Zealand, where BlueScope manufactures steel in Glenbrook, south of Auckland, the steelmaker recently announced it was going to fully-electric steelmaking to produce 650,000 tonnes of steel. A similar switch was not possible in Australia due to the larger volumes of steel made in Port Kembla, the limited availability of scrap metal and access to reliable renewable electricity.
Mr Witecka said there needed to be a range of enabling conditions to enable the green transition to take place. These included technical conditions such as access to renewable electricity, green hydrogen and infrastructure, as well as policies from governments such as a carbon pricing scheme or policy instruments to support investment in green steel. Finally certification schemes needed to be place to ensure steel that is sold as 'green' could be identified in the market.
"Cooperations between government and industry is very important to enable this transition, and so far, the final investment decisions that we see around the globe have always been the case of very strong government and industry cooperation," Mr Witecka said.
With the steel sector having CO2 emissions equivalent to the total emissions of India the potential for a faster transition would have a significant impact on the global push to net zero.
"The 2020s are a major crossroads for the global steel sector," Frank Peter, director of think tank Agora Industry that published the report, said. "The right policy and investment decisions today will avoid high carbon lock-in and stranded assets and put us on the path of net-zero compatible investments that can future-proof the industry and its jobs."
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
