This is the second episode in EUROFER's Green Deal on Steel series: the importance of energy in the success of the transition to low-carbon steelmaking. 

Energy is key to achieving the steel industry’s low-carbon goals. The transition to carbon-lean steelmaking will require 400 terawatt-hours of CO2-free electricity per year.

This is almost the total electricity demand of France. It is seven times what the steel industry purchases from the grid today. This electricity needs to be ‘green’ and affordable.

Of this, nearly 250 terawatt-hours is needed for the production of 5.5 million tonnes of hydrogen, which would be used in new processes to make ‘green’ steel.

EU policymakers must help create a market for the resulting green steel, which may cost 35 to 100 percent more to produce than it does with the highly optimised processes currently in use.

The benefits to society from the availability of green electricity and green industrial products, such as green steel, are huge – so Europe needs to strive to make the energy transition as quickly and comprehensively as possible.