Europe’s regulators must think in terms of life-cycle, says steel industry

The EU’s focus on tailpipe emissions governs the efforts of OEMs to lower emissions, which in turn could have unintended consequences, warns EUROFER. By Xavier Boucherat

The steel industry has long argued that when a vehicle’s entire life-cycle is taken into consideration, steel products offer a more sustainable solution than alternative materials. Current regulations, which centre around use-phase emissions, have in recent years prompted OEMs and suppliers to explore lighter alternatives such as aluminium.

But, say steel suppliers, when production and end-of-life phases are taken into account (including material production), steel makes far less in the way of energy demands.

World Auto Steel, a global industry group with which the European Steel Association (EUROFER) works closely, has previously published peer-reviewed research it believes shows that the use…