At the 2nd European Green Steel Summit, John Gordon, Senior Vice President, Raw Materials and Sustainable Resources, United States Steel Corporation, shared his perspectives on the green steel transformation of high quality iron ore.
"We are in an advantageous position because of our high quality and long-lived iron ore resources in the United States," Gordon stated, noting that he believes that a variety of resources, not just iron ore, are important for decarbonizing the industry. He also emphasized that the fact that most of their production is in the United States is a rare advantage and that the company is backing it with resources for green steel. Gordon explained that they have two iron ore mines in the US and gave information about the locations of their factories globally.
Referring to the impact of climate change on green steel, Gordon detailed their net zero project by 2030 and talked primarily about their iron ore consumption. He stated that carbon-free activities should not be limited to energy and chemical uses, but also play a critical role in the construction sector and blast furnace activities.
Explaining how the market mechanism in the steel sector adapts to technology, Gordon gave examples of green steel operations in Europe, relating them to green hydrogen projects. He also noted that there are price regulations for carbon emission steel charges in European and Asian markets.
Emphasizing that green steel production is a new production model, Gordon said that its source is iron ore and pig iron is still an important constituent. He added that there are still uncertainties about the value of pig iron in green steel production.
Gordon also referred to the production of 75 million tons of DRI and said that this figure is significant and that even assuming that technological challenges are overcome, challenges such as the development of energy sources will still remain in the sector.
Referring to supply issues, Gordon pointed out that there are supply problems arising from demand DRI levels, especially in Europe, and pointed out that supply and demand levels are not in a position to meet each other. He indicated that there will be a gap of about 3.5 million tons by 2040 and suggested various solutions to solve this problem.
Emphasizing that as US Steel, they develop existing mines and generally realize high margin projects at low cost, Gordon said that they are active with greenfield projects. Noting that new greenfield projects can be challenging, he added that they are pioneers in steel production in the US by re-mining and that low carbon utilization is possible for DRI.
Comments
No comment yet.