Thanks to the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA)
DC, Washington The carbon intensity of steel produced by electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers in the U.S. is roughly 75% lower than that of traditional blast furnace steelmakers. This is the conclusion of an impartial research of steelmakers around the world that was carried out by CRU Group , a global business intelligence company with a focus on the manufacturing of metals. The largest steel group in the United States, the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) , which represents the EAF steel industry and over 70% of the steel produced in the country, released the study today. The study represents a new turning point in the measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the steelmaking sector in terms of objectivity, precision, and thoroughness.
According to Philip Bell, president of SMA, “anything that can’t be measured can’t be managed,” and our new study definitively measures and verifies how using recycled scrap-based EAF technology is the most environmentally friendly way to produce steel right now. EAF manufacturers are producing steel at much lower carbon-intensity levels than conventional steelmakers all around the world by using an established, tested steelmaking method. There is a lot of incorrect and deceptive information out there regarding steelmaking, so we hope that this impartial study will aid in our efforts to move toward a low-carbon future.
Study Design and Key Findings
The study was independently overseen by CRU and ran from November 2021 to June 2022. This involved gathering information about most global steelmaking firms and industry data sources, conducting anonymous surveys of different steelmaking participants, and compiling information from several public, private, and governmental sources. CRU complied with the standards and guidelines provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) , the United Nations agency responsible for evaluating climate change science. The study’s executive summary can be found at https://steelnet.org/steelmaking-emissions-report-2022/ .
One of the study’s key conclusions is that EAF steel producers’ average Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions intensity at the crude and hot-rolled steelmaking phases is 75 percent lower than that of blast furnace producers. The crude steelmaking GHG intensity of blast furnace manufacturers is still 210 percent greater than that of EAF steelmakers and 189 percent higher at the hot-rolled steelmaking phase when incorporating all three scopes, despite the Paris Agreement and industry norms excluding Scope 3 emission throughout the supply chain.
The steelmaking industry has long struggled with the perception that it relies on outdated, ineffective, and highly polluting processes, according to Mark Millett, chairman of SMA and co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Steel Dynamics. Sustainability has emerged as one of the most crucial issues in business today. This long needed new study sets the bar for how we measure our advancement in this field. Our most recent study considerably strengthens and clarifies our case that EAF steel is the greenest, safest, and most energy-efficient form of steelmaking.
Large steel facilities that use coal to melt raw materials into iron and then process it into steel produce blast furnace steel, which accounts for over 70% of the world’s steel production. EAF steel is manufactured in steel facilities that primarily use electricity and recycled ferrous waste to build steel, resulting in a lower carbon emission and less energy-intensive process. EAF steel accounts for around 70% of steelmaking in the U.S. The carbon intensity of EAF steelmaking will decrease even further as the U.S. electrical power system continues to be decarbonized thanks to the efforts of utilities and private businesses.
According to John Ball, president of CRU North America, “CRU is fortunate to have been allowed to play a key role in this comprehensive worldwide industry study that will actually have an impact on sustainability in the steel sector.” The SMA fully entrusted CRU with the management of this project to allow us to conduct research, collect, and analyze data from a wide range of steelmakers to produce the most accurate and thorough report possible. This was done to ensure the highest level of objectivity and avoid any potential conflicts of interest. By working together with a dependable partner who can independently and competently validate data, our cooperation serves as a model for how firms in related industries can increase the quality of their data.
Access the executive summary of the study at https://steelnet.org/steelmaking-emissions-report-2022 for further details.
SSAB Steel provided the featured image.
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