Transportation, household appliances, construction and many other industries rely on steel, the most used metal in the world.
Unfortunately, steel production makes up about 8 percent of global carbon emissions and about 30 percent of industrial emissions. As governments and industry seek to lower carbon emissions, steel production has become a major focus. Steel industry leaders are developing technologies to manufacture “green steel,” with the most recent innovation being a process that can produce iron plates from iron ore using no fossil fuels.
What constitutes making green steel?
Green steel is generally considered to be steel manufactured in a way that cuts back on emissions with a lower amount of carbon output. Some observers say green steel production occurs when hydrogen made from renewable energy replaces fossil fuels to make steel. But industry experts say currently there is no strict definition or established technology. Most agree that green steel is the manufacture of steel without the use of fossil fuels.
Chemistry and electricity
The Colorado-based company Electra has developed a process that would fit anyone’s definition of green steel. The company, which is backed by Amazon and steel manufacturer Nucor, produces iron plates that can then be used to make steel, all without using coal, natural gas or hydrogen, according to a June Wall Street Journal special report. Electra’s process relies on chemistry and renewable electricity.
In this process, Electra dissolves iron ore in an acid-based chemical solution. Renewable electricity from wind or solar power is then run through the solution to separate the pure iron from impurities. Oxygen is created as a byproduct and the acid is recycled. The separation process removes co-products like alumina and silica which are then sold. An electric current is then used to turn the iron into plates about the size of door frames. This entire process requires temperatures of about 140 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to the approximately 3,000 degrees needed for traditional steel manufacturing, according to the Journal.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), technologies using hydrogen to manufacture steel also reduce carbon emissions. So called “green hydrogen” technology burns hydrogen using renewable energy from wind and solar power, making it fossil fuel free. If hydrogen is produced using fossil fuels, “carbon capture” technology can reduce emissions, and this approach is referred to as “blue hydrogen.” According to the WEF website, clean hydrogen production at scale will require billions of dollars in investment in renewable power generation.
Recycling steel is key to reducing carbon emissions
Steel is the most recycled material in the world and steel recycling is a key component of reducing carbon emissions in steel production. According to the American Institute of Steel Construction, by weight, 81 percent of all steel products are recovered for recycling at the end of their life, including 85 percent of automobiles, 82 percent of appliances, 70 percent of containers, 72 percent of reinforcing bar, and 98 percent of structural steel. Structural steel currently includes 93 percent recycled content. According to the World Steel Association, about 30 percent of the world’s steel is made from recycled steel scrap.
These recycling statistics are significant because using steel scrap to manufacture new steel makes huge strides in cutting emissions. Steel scrap can be processed into new steel using much lower temperatures in an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). Steel produced using virgin iron ore requires much higher temperatures to process using a traditional blast furnace. According to the Steel Manufacturers Association, EAFs are reducing emissions by 75 percent compared to the blast furnace method. In the United States, 70 percent of steel is made from electric arc furnaces. Blast furnaces are used in most steel plants in the rest of the world.
Multiple green steel projects underway
A Swedish consortium including steelmaker SSAB uses the hydrogen production technology, Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology (HYBRIT), using electricity from renewable sources to create the clean burning gas. In the process, hydrogen replaces fossil fuels. The production of hydrogen itself requires a significant amount of electricity, which in turn emits carbon dioxide. The success of this technology hinges on the grid supplying the electricity and whether it uses renewable resources like hydroelectric or solar power. SSAB says that its green steel would be 20 to 30 percent more expensive than conventional steel.
In Massachusetts, an initiative started at MIT called Boston Metal is pursuing another route to steel production with lower CO2 emissions. The company is working with “molten oxide electrolysis,” a process in which electricity is run through melted iron oxide to produce steel and oxygen.
Recycling can help meet emission goals
For these and several similar projects, massive investments are needed to implement new technology to produce green steel. In the end, costs will be passed to consumers of premium green steel. Evaluating and implementing these investments will take years, industry experts say, because of the long investment cycles in the very capital-intensive steel industry. While it is not exactly clear what constitutes green steel and there are different approaches to try to achieve it, the pursuit of green steel will continue to increase demand for steel scrap around the world. Because green steel is very expensive to produce, increased recycling can help meet emissions goals.
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