Credit: H2 Green Steel
Coalition of non-profits launch campaign aimed at encouraging automakers to source green steel for their vehicles
Global carmakers are being urged to commit to sourcing low carbon steel to manufacture their vehicles in order to reduce emissions and slash demand for coal, as part of a new campaign launched by a coalition of non-profits and industry groups today.
Dubbed the Race to Green Steel, the campaign aims to support automakers in procuring low emission steel, which it claims could slash the embodied emissions of the vehicles they make by 30 to 50 per cent while also helping to reduce air pollution.
By encouraging carmakers to invest in sourcing green steel, the campaign aims to funnel more investment into new technologies that can enable primary steelmaking using low carbon fuels and methods as an alternative to conventional coking coal.
The campaign is a collaborative effort led by green non-profits the Climate Group, Industrious Labs, CALSTART's Green Steel Programme, and the International Council on Clean Transportation, and aims to support companies in developing green steel targets and investing in innovative technologies.
Until relatively recently, steelmaking - which is critical for the scaling of myriad clean technologies needed for the net zero transition, from electric vehicles (EVs) to wind turbines - was widely considered a ‘hard to abate' industry due to its heavy reliance on coking coal.
But in recent years new technologies have emerged that provide a number of potentially viable commercial alternatives to conventional coal-powered steelmaking, with a series of green steel plants now in the pipeline across Europe, North America and Asia.
A number of carmakers including Mercede-Benz and Volvo have already signed early offtake agreements for low carbon steel produced at green steel plants being developed in Sweden by the likes of SSAB and H2 Green Steel.
Against this backdrop, Jon Gordon, deputy director at CALSTART's Green Steel Program, said it was "not a matter of if, but when, the first car made with green steel will reach the market in the United States".
"Whether an automaker is just getting started assessing the environmental impacts of its supply chain materials or actively pursuing partnerships with companies developing nascent clean energy technologies, we're ready to help them progress on the race to green steel," he said.
Steelmaking today accounts for roughly seven per cent of the world's greenhouse gases and is also a major contributor to air and water pollution due to its reliance on coal-fired blast furnaces.
But as demand for greener products grows, tighter climate policies and higher carbon prices come into force, and the commercial viability of coal declines, pressure is mounting on steelmakers to change tack and shift towards greener production methods. The UK's two leading primary steelmakers, for example - Tata Steel and British Steel - are aiming to close down their coal-powered blast furnaced in favour of switching to electric arc furnaces that can recycle scrap steel.
Maricela Gutierrez, senior strategist at Industrious Labs, said encouraging carmakers to demonstrate demand for greener steel could help to encourage more metals manufacturers to invest in the latest clean steelmaking technologies.
"By purchasing fossil-free, American-made steel, automakers can deliver cleaner air, slash supply chain emissions, and grow family-sustaining jobs," she said. "Automakers have an amazing opportunity to position themselves as industry leaders. We're excited to work alongside this industry on their Race to Green Steel."
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