Greening steel industry by hydrogen: Lessons learned for the developing world

Abstract

Whole-of-economy greenhouse gas emissions reduction is one of the most important targets of transitioning to sustainable energy systems. With 7% of global emissions, the steel industry is one of the most carbon-intensive industries. Approximately two-thirds of annual steel production is attributed to the conventional blast furnace (BF)/converter route with high carbon emissions. Many countries in the world have developed large-scale laboratory pilots in line with steel production processes with green hydrogen or syngas. In this study, the experienced strategies of green, gray, and blue steel generation in the world are studied. Accordingly, the technology development approach of different countries, their targets, and implemented international motivations to improve the green-commodity supply chain are reviewed. The results show that in order to achieve low/zero carbon steel generation, the technology development approach in each country is consistent with its national circumstances, availability of resources, and constraints. Therefore, concerning the economic and environmental approaches of the biocompatible technologies for the steel industry development, it is important to identify the countries’ strategies and plans for adapting the current industry based on local capacities and constraints. These considerations are analyzed for greening steel production in various regions of the world and recommendations are made for low-carbon steel production in developing countries. According to the findings of this research, it is advisable for nations that possess fossil fuel resources to adopt the production of blue steel, as the transition to green steel production entails a high cost of technology. Conversely, nations that have limited access to fossil fuels and abundant water resources can justify their policies on green steel production through the use of electrolysis technology and renewable energy. Additionally, some nations that have extensive agricultural land and biomass resources can benefit from the development of brown steel. Therefore, the strategy of low carbon steel is contingent on the geographical constraints and cannot be uniformly applied to all regions.