News » A Green Deal on Steel video series - episode 5
A Green Deal on Steel video series - episode 5
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This is the fifth episode in EUROFER's Green Deal on Steel series: Carbon Direct Avoidance.
The current techniques for making steel from iron ore are at their thermodynamic limits and electricity-based steel processes cannot, presently, rely on having access to fully renewable energy sources.
This is where Carbon Direct Avoidance comes in. Carbon Direct Avoidance tries to avoid the generation of carbon oxides in the first place.
There are two main ways.
There is hydrogen-based metallurgy, which uses hydrogen to replace carbon in steel production processes. This hydrogen could be produced using renewable energy.
Then there is electricity-based metallurgy, which uses electricity with a greater focus on renewable energy.
Carbon Direct Avoidance projects include HYBRIT, H2Steel, tkH2Steel GrInHY, SALCOS Hydrogen Hamburg and SIDERWIN. Further projects focus on the scrap or direct reduction of iron routes, involving circular economy solutions, process integration and Carbon Direct Avoidance via hydrogen and electricity use.
These projects are already underway at various levels across Europe, and when deployed could revolutionise how steel is made.
Brussels, 25 July 2024 – Major indicators in the European steel market show a steeper-than-expected downward trend, further impacting the outlook for this year and the next. Poor demand conditions, driven by ongoing factors such as high energy prices, persistent inflation, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, are exacerbated by a manufacturing crisis affecting the largest steel-using sectors, including construction and automotive. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, apparent steel consumption is further deteriorating. After a slump (-3.1%) in the first quarter of 2024, its rebound for the full year has been revised downwards (to +1.4% from +3.2%), as well as for 2025 (+4.1% from +5.6%). Similarly, output in steel-using sectors, after a decline in the first quarter (-1.9%), is projected to experience a deeper-than-expected recession (-1.6% from -1%). A recovery is anticipated only in 2025 (+2.3%). Steel imports continue to show historically high shares (27%).
Third quarter 2024 report. Data up to, and including, first quarter 2024
Picture Copyright: European Union, 2024 Source: EC - Audiovisual Service
Brussels, 18 July 2024 – The re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission paves the way for the continuation of the ambitious initiatives started in her first term. For a stronger and prosperous Europe, defining a pragmatic set of measures within the first 100 days of the new Commission mandate is the right step forward to ensure the success of the EU’s industry transition, if properly implemented. The European Steel Association urges that the Clean Industrial Deal be complemented as a priority by a European Steel Pact, as proposed by the German delegation to the European People’s Party (EPP).