- Green steel aims to produce steel using low-carbon energy sources and cleaner alternatives to the conventional carbon-intensive methods.
- Steel is the biggest industrial contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for around 8% of the world’s total
- The primary approaches to achieve this include:
- Substituting coal with low-carbon hydrogen (blue hydrogen derived from natural gas with carbon capture, or green hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources like solar or wind) as the reducing agent in the steelmaking process.
- Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies to capture the CO2 emissions from the steelmaking process and either store it or utilize it for other purposes.
- Direct electrification through electrolysis of iron ore using electricity from renewable sources like solar, wind, or hydroelectric power.
- Using other low-carbon energy sources like coal gasification or electricity instead of the traditional coal-fired plants.
- With countries committing to reducing emissions and achieving net-zero targets, the steel industry needs to transition towards cleaner production methods.
- Green steel offers a pathway to significantly lower the carbon footprint of steel production, cut costs in the long run, and potentially improve the quality of steel as well.
- Initiatives like India’s National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHM) are aimed at capitalizing on hydrogen as a cleaner alternative fuel source, which can play a crucial role in the development of green steel production methods
Dig Deeper: What are the different types (colours) of Hydrogen?
