In the latest stage of its Technological Innovation and Climate Change inquiry, the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has announced that it is to look at green steel. Environmental Audit Committee chairman Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP said “Steel is the bedrock for many of our low-carbon aspirations: from electricity generation to our modes of transport. But wind turbines and electric vehicles have a major carbon footprint due to the steel used to manufacture them. As the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has recently pointed out, the decision point for investment to renew the UK’s steel installations is fast approaching, without a clear lead from the Government on the technology to adopt. We will be exploring the technological innovations available to make the steel sector more environmentally friendly. I encourage all those engaged in transforming this essential industry to consider contributing to this stage of our inquiry. Decarbonisation of the sector is a real test of the Government’s mettle and the ingenuity and ambition of UK industry. Successful use of technological advances to green the industry will make a substantial contribution to the goal of Net Zero Britain.”Terms of reference1. The technologies there are to produce “green steel”; how close they are to commercialisation; and the benefits and risks of each2. The relationship between low-carbon steelmaking technologies and the development of other decarbonising technologies3. The timescales needed to achieve fossil fuel feedstock replacement and fossil fuel-free energy throughout the supply chain for steel products4. The targets the Government should set for low-carbon steelmaking in the UK5. The policy support for low-carbon steelmaking in the UK provided in the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy6. How effective the Clean Steel Fund is expected to be in helping to deliver decarbonised fuel capacity in the UK7. Any additional policy support required to encourage the transition to low-carbon steelmaking8. The desirability or otherwise of establishing a low-carbon steelmaking pilot at a UK site9. The consequences to the UK steel sector from a failure to invest in alternative technologies in a globally competitive marketThe Committee invites written submissions of no more than 3000 words addressing any or all of the issues raised in the following terms of reference, by 10 March 2022.Steel is a crucial material for the UK’s low carbon aspirations: it is an essential component of wind turbines to electric vehicles. However, the steelmaking process itself produces significant greenhouse gas emissions, with the production of a tonne of steel generating almost two tonnes of CO2 emissions. Industry figures have indicated that decarbonising UK steel production is an enormous challenge and will be difficult to achieve by the 2035 target set by the Climate Change Committee in its Sixth Carbon Budget. The industry is also facing imminent decisions on the investment required to replace blast furnaces at UK steelmaking plants.
In the latest stage of its Technological Innovation and Climate Change inquiry, the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee has announced that it is to look at green steel. Environmental Audit Committee chairman Rt Hon Philip Dunne MP said “Steel is the bedrock for many of our low-carbon aspirations: from electricity generation to our modes of transport. But wind turbines and electric vehicles have a major carbon footprint due to the steel used to manufacture them. As the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has recently pointed out, the decision point for investment to renew the UK’s steel installations is fast approaching, without a clear lead from the Government on the technology to adopt. We will be exploring the technological innovations available to make the steel sector more environmentally friendly. I encourage all those engaged in transforming this essential industry to consider contributing to this stage of our inquiry. Decarbonisation of the sector is a real test of the Government’s mettle and the ingenuity and ambition of UK industry. Successful use of technological advances to green the industry will make a substantial contribution to the goal of Net Zero Britain.”Terms of reference1. The technologies there are to produce “green steel”; how close they are to commercialisation; and the benefits and risks of each2. The relationship between low-carbon steelmaking technologies and the development of other decarbonising technologies3. The timescales needed to achieve fossil fuel feedstock replacement and fossil fuel-free energy throughout the supply chain for steel products4. The targets the Government should set for low-carbon steelmaking in the UK5. The policy support for low-carbon steelmaking in the UK provided in the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy6. How effective the Clean Steel Fund is expected to be in helping to deliver decarbonised fuel capacity in the UK7. Any additional policy support required to encourage the transition to low-carbon steelmaking8. The desirability or otherwise of establishing a low-carbon steelmaking pilot at a UK site9. The consequences to the UK steel sector from a failure to invest in alternative technologies in a globally competitive marketThe Committee invites written submissions of no more than 3000 words addressing any or all of the issues raised in the following terms of reference, by 10 March 2022.Steel is a crucial material for the UK’s low carbon aspirations: it is an essential component of wind turbines to electric vehicles. However, the steelmaking process itself produces significant greenhouse gas emissions, with the production of a tonne of steel generating almost two tonnes of CO2 emissions. Industry figures have indicated that decarbonising UK steel production is an enormous challenge and will be difficult to achieve by the 2035 target set by the Climate Change Committee in its Sixth Carbon Budget. The industry is also facing imminent decisions on the investment required to replace blast furnaces at UK steelmaking plants.
