During a recent workshop at Columbia Business School, experts addressed the challenge of soaring emissions, highlighting the urgent need for a comprehensive transformation across the industry.
It is both technically possible and economically feasible to eliminate almost all the carbon dioxide from iron and steel production by mid-century, thus cleaning up an industry that accounts for 10 percent of global emissions. But progress will not happen without a concerted policy push.
Steel is an infamously hard-to-abate sector. For one thing, steel production assets have long lifespans before they are due for expensive upgrades. For another, the sector’s energy requirements are massive and will likely tax emerging clean energy systems. Some of these roadblocks can be circumvented — at least for the time being — with an embrace of transitional, “messy middle” technologies and processes, which can represent decarbonization potentials of between 10% and 50% (though they still carry significant green price premiums).
“I think we need a green steel definition,” noted Marie Jaroni, senior vice president of decarbonization and ESG at Germany’s ThyssenKrupp. “Everyone is doing their own thing. It would help our clients and our customers to have one green steel definition, and I think that’s very crucial for all of us.”
“How do you build a just transition into all of this?” asked Columbia SIPA’s Bataille. “You’ve got to involve your communities and local workforces from the beginning and make them part of the solution-finding process.”
For many years, steelmaking has followed a consistent, two-step process: First, iron ore is mined and mixed with coal, as well as other substances, to make molten iron. This process most often happens using highly polluting blast furnaces. Some 90% of steel-related emissions come from this first iron-producing step.