IEA in a latest report opined that current pipeline of projects to decarbonize steel industry clearly fall short of what is required to meet the Net Zero Scenario. IEAS said “The direct CO2 intensity of crude steel production has decreased slightly in the past few years, but efforts need to be accelerated to get on track with the pathway in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. In contrast to the minor annual improvements in the last decade, the CO2 intensity in the Net Zero Scenario falls by around 3% annually on average between 2020 and 2030. Since the emissions reduction potential of energy efficiency improvements and fuel shifting using conventional process technology is limited, innovation in the current decade will be crucial to commercialize new near zero-emission steel production processes including those that integrate carbon capture, utilization and storage and hydrogen, to achieve deeper cuts in emissions.”IEA said “Technological progress supported by high fossil fuel prices supported momentum for near zero steel production and particularly direct reduction of hydrogen. After the Hybrit project in Sweden successfully piloted the first fossil-free steel delivery to a customer in August 2021, many new projects and related funding have been announced tripling the global number of projects and leading roughly to a five-fold increase of expected hydrogen capacity. Recently announced projects include for example SALCOS in Germany, Liberty Steel DRI plant in France, Iberdrola H2 Green Steel in Iberian Peninsula, or Green Steel H2V CAP in Chile.”IEA said “The current pipeline of projects clearly nonetheless falls short of what is required to meet the Net Zero Scenario. Governments can help by providing RD&D funding, creating a market for near zero-emission steel, adopting policies for mandatory CO2 emission reductions, expanding international co‑operation and developing supporting infrastructure. With electricity, hydrogen and CCUS as three main pillars to achieve substantial emission reductions in the iron and steel sector, suitable infrastructure needs to be developed to support the deployment of these innovative technologies. “China, responsible for producing well over half of the world’s steel in 2020, has announced it will be putting a price on steel emissions, possibly as soon as 2023. They further announced as part of the 14th Five-Year-Plan (2021-2025) that it will be prioritizing the creation of a circular economy, seeking to increase the use of scrap steel to 320 million tonnes by 2025, an increase of around 30% relative to estimates for 2020. This follows India, the world's second largest steel producer in 2020, releasing their own Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, aiming to promote a circular economy in the steel sector by facilitating steel recycling across the product life cycle. The European Union is in the process of developing a carbon border adjustment mechanism for steel, while the United States has announced that it is considering the same. These policies would apply tariffs on imported emissions-intensive goods from jurisdictions with weak or absent emissions policy in an effort to limit carbon leakage, and incentivize stronger emissions measures overseas. France and Japan recently released roadmaps for decarbonizing the iron and steel sector, setting out specific targets and laying out concrete steps for their steel sectors, with the French plan calling for emission reductions of 31% by 2030 Last year, Germany announced it was earmarking EUR 7 billion for green hydrogen, including EUR 55 million for hydrogen-based steel production. Key projects currently under development that could contribute to closing this gap are as follows: The HYBRIT project in SwedenH2 Green Steel in SwedenDemonstration plant being designed in Hamburg in GermanyThe 3D Carbon Capture pilot in Dunkirk in FranceTata Steel's pilot plant in Ijmuiden in NetherlandsOn the demand side, the First Movers Coalition and the SteelZero Initiative are working to create a market for net zero steel, bringing together steel consumers that commit to procuring a defined amount of their steel from low-carbon sources.
IEA in a latest report opined that current pipeline of projects to decarbonize steel industry clearly fall short of what is required to meet the Net Zero Scenario. IEAS said “The direct CO2 intensity of crude steel production has decreased slightly in the past few years, but efforts need to be accelerated to get on track with the pathway in the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario. In contrast to the minor annual improvements in the last decade, the CO2 intensity in the Net Zero Scenario falls by around 3% annually on average between 2020 and 2030. Since the emissions reduction potential of energy efficiency improvements and fuel shifting using conventional process technology is limited, innovation in the current decade will be crucial to commercialize new near zero-emission steel production processes including those that integrate carbon capture, utilization and storage and hydrogen, to achieve deeper cuts in emissions.”IEA said “Technological progress supported by high fossil fuel prices supported momentum for near zero steel production and particularly direct reduction of hydrogen. After the Hybrit project in Sweden successfully piloted the first fossil-free steel delivery to a customer in August 2021, many new projects and related funding have been announced tripling the global number of projects and leading roughly to a five-fold increase of expected hydrogen capacity. Recently announced projects include for example SALCOS in Germany, Liberty Steel DRI plant in France, Iberdrola H2 Green Steel in Iberian Peninsula, or Green Steel H2V CAP in Chile.”IEA said “The current pipeline of projects clearly nonetheless falls short of what is required to meet the Net Zero Scenario. Governments can help by providing RD&D funding, creating a market for near zero-emission steel, adopting policies for mandatory CO2 emission reductions, expanding international co‑operation and developing supporting infrastructure. With electricity, hydrogen and CCUS as three main pillars to achieve substantial emission reductions in the iron and steel sector, suitable infrastructure needs to be developed to support the deployment of these innovative technologies. “China, responsible for producing well over half of the world’s steel in 2020, has announced it will be putting a price on steel emissions, possibly as soon as 2023. They further announced as part of the 14th Five-Year-Plan (2021-2025) that it will be prioritizing the creation of a circular economy, seeking to increase the use of scrap steel to 320 million tonnes by 2025, an increase of around 30% relative to estimates for 2020. This follows India, the world's second largest steel producer in 2020, releasing their own Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, aiming to promote a circular economy in the steel sector by facilitating steel recycling across the product life cycle. The European Union is in the process of developing a carbon border adjustment mechanism for steel, while the United States has announced that it is considering the same. These policies would apply tariffs on imported emissions-intensive goods from jurisdictions with weak or absent emissions policy in an effort to limit carbon leakage, and incentivize stronger emissions measures overseas. France and Japan recently released roadmaps for decarbonizing the iron and steel sector, setting out specific targets and laying out concrete steps for their steel sectors, with the French plan calling for emission reductions of 31% by 2030 Last year, Germany announced it was earmarking EUR 7 billion for green hydrogen, including EUR 55 million for hydrogen-based steel production. Key projects currently under development that could contribute to closing this gap are as follows: The HYBRIT project in SwedenH2 Green Steel in SwedenDemonstration plant being designed in Hamburg in GermanyThe 3D Carbon Capture pilot in Dunkirk in FranceTata Steel's pilot plant in Ijmuiden in NetherlandsOn the demand side, the First Movers Coalition and the SteelZero Initiative are working to create a market for net zero steel, bringing together steel consumers that commit to procuring a defined amount of their steel from low-carbon sources.
