Mining company Anglo American has announced plans to invest in start-ups developing technology to cut carbon emissions from steel-making and lower the group’s carbon footprint.

Anglo American, along with EU-funded EIT Raw Materials, has launched a competition to find innovative small companies developing ways to reduce greenhouse gases from the global steel sector, which is responsible for 8% of all CO2 emissions.

''The problems are so huge and manifold that many of the industry players can’t cope with them anymore.''

Bernd Schaefer, managing director of EIT Raw Materials

“The problems are so huge and manifold that many of the industry players can’t cope with them anymore. On the other side, we really have the means to activate our network,” Bernd Schaefer, managing director of EIT Raw Materials, said.

Anglo American produces iron ore, the raw material to make steel, and under carbon accounting standards, a company is also responsible for indirect emissions from material it sells to others, known as Scope 3 emissions.

“We are looking not only at how we decarbonize our own operations, but also at how we can reduce the emissions of our broader value chain.”

Benny Oeyen, executive head of market development, Anglo American

“We are looking not only at how we decarbonize our own operations, but also at how we can reduce the emissions of our broader value chain,” Benny Oeyen, Anglo’s executive head of market development, said.

The company, which produced 59.3Mt of iron ore last year, aims to halve its Scope 3 indirect emissions by 2040.

Short-listed companies will be assessed by Anglo American’s decarbonized ventures team for potential investment and given ‘access to the group’s expertise’.

Source: Mining.com