Декарбонізація та енергетична криза

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify new directions for reducing the share of fossil fuels in the energy balance of industrial production for the possibility of overcoming the energy crisis. Humanity has been living in conditions of an unprecedented energy crisis for the past few years. First, the coronavirus pandemic, then the sharp rise in energy prices and the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia exacerbated energy consumption problems and increased the need for wider development of alternative energy sources and the latest industrial technologies. In the crisis conditions of 2022 the European Union not only maintained the course for decarbonization, but also accelerates the transformation of the economy and industry, because this contributes to energy independence and security. Two way strategies are being developed in the energy sector - diversification through the distribution and balance of energy sources, which guarantee the security of the entire energy system, and decarbonization as a course to gradually abandon traditional energy sources (natural gas, oil, coal, peat), reducing carbon dioxide emissions and transition to renewable sources (solar radiation, wind, sea tides, biomass). Environmentally friendly hydrogen is considered one of the key components of the future energy system. The main directions of the European Strategy in the field of hydrogen are analyzed, and a number of fundamental documents of the EU energy policy adopted in 2022 are presented. Today, ferrous metallurgy is one of the largest sources of emissions, so the task of changing the course to production with a low level of emissions and a carbon-neutral sector is for it one of the most relevant. The potential of hydrogen as a fuel and reducing agent has been known for a long time, but now its role in decarbonization at all stages of metallurgical production is becoming more and more significant. Several large research programs on hydrogen production and reduction of iron oxides have been launched in the world. Based on the deep modernization of production capacities and energy systems, as well as the introduction of new innovative methods, the amount of current annual emissions during steel production can be reduced by 15-20%. Further reductions to 1.0 t CO2/t steel are possible with new technologies such as blast furnace gas recirculation, oxygen blast furnace, maximum replacement of coke with biomass and by replacing carbon with hydrogen in reductants and fuels such as natural gas and coke gas. The energy crisis can become a "window of opportunity", developing new directions for reducing the share of fossil fuels in the energy balance.