Plant supplier ABB has launched a new report that considers carbon capture, hydrogen and electrochemistry as routes to decarbonizing primary steel production.

The report focuses on new technological developments and approaches in Brazil, China, India, Sweden and the US, and includes insights from steel manufacturers such as SSAB, Tata Steel and Aperam, as well as experts from the American Association for Iron and Steel Technology and ABB.

The new ABB report named ‘What does the journey to fossil-free steel look like? How to achieve a sustainable future’ discusses decarbonization challenges including cost, the complexity in transitioning to lower carbon technologies and access to hydrogen, clean electricity, high grade iron-ore and fossil-free carbon and lime.

The ABB report highlights fossil-free steel innovation in five steel producing markets. These include:

  • the Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology (HYBRIT) piloted in Sweden by steelmaker SSAB, state-owned iron ore miner LKAB, and state-owned energy company Vattenfall to make steel using green hydrogen and fossil-free electricity using the high grade iron ore from the LKAB mines instead of coking coals;
  • the ResponsibleSteel™ industry association-backed Aperam, which has interests in stainless steel and agriculture, and the use of charcoal produced from its own 100,000 hectares of FSC®-certified forests in Brazil as a renewable substitute for coal-based coke in steelmaking to significantly reduce CO₂ and entirely eradicate the use of extractive coal;
  • the HIsarna process by Tata Steel in India which uses a powdered form of the raw ore material instead of processed ores such as coke, sinter or pellets to make liquid pig iron and can reduce emissions by up to 20 percent compared with the traditional Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) method.

“Digitalization is not only intrinsic to collaboration between entities but to optimizing the use of resources and energy management, and in providing the traceability required to keep organizations accountable to emissions targets.”

Shiva Sander Tavallaey, senior principal scientist at ABB Corporate Research Center

“Digitalization is not only intrinsic to collaboration between entities but to optimizing the use of resources and energy management, and in providing the traceability required to keep organizations accountable to emissions targets,” said Shiva Sander Tavallaey, senior principal scientist at ABB Corporate Research Center.

''The steel industry will need powerful, integrated solutions and must collaborate at every level of the global steel supply chain in order to succeed.”

Frederik Esterhuizen, global business line manager for metals at ABB

“Regulatory, commercial, and social drivers are accelerating the journey to decarbonize steel,” said Frederik Esterhuizen, global business line manager for metals at ABB. “But to address the core challenges set out in ABB’s report and phase out fossil fuels, the steel industry will need powerful, integrated solutions and must collaborate at every level of the global steel supply chain in order to succeed.”