{"id":8795,"date":"2021-11-05T16:05:07","date_gmt":"2021-11-05T16:05:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1372263"},"modified":"2021-11-05T16:05:07","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T16:05:07","slug":"why-everyone-is-talking-about-green-steel-at-cop26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=8795","title":{"rendered":"Why everyone is talking about \u2018green steel\u2019 at COP26"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Among the rhetoric of climate change bingo and platitudes, there\u2019s a term I\u2019ve been hearing a lot at COP26 this week<\/a> \u2014 green steel. But what is it, why does it matter, and what does it actually mean for us, the consumers and end-users? <\/span><\/p>\n

The global steel industry is one of the world\u2019s largest emitters of carbon dioxide, representing approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions. Demand for fossil-free steel is growing substantially with solid interest from global market leaders in automotive, commercial vehicles, white goods, furniture, etc. And the most significant noise is therefore around \u201cgreen steel\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is green steel? <\/span><\/h2>\n

Traditionally, steel is made using a classic blast furnace. This emits an average of more than two tons of CO2 per ton.<\/span><\/p>\n

Green steel aims to use a new manufacturing process to replace coking coal, traditionally needed for ore-based steelmaking, with renewable electricity and green hydrogen<\/a>. As a result, the production of steel at the supplier level is CO2-free. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/i><\/a>HYBRIT is a collaborative effort manufacturing green steel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Andrew \u201cTwiggy\u201d Forrest, CEO and co-founder of <\/span>Fortescue Future Industries<\/span><\/a>, there are two key methods of green steel production:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

In one, you replace coal in the furnace with our old friend, green hydrogen, (and) you get steel \u2013 but instead of emitting vast clouds of CO2, you produce nothing more than water vapor.<\/span><\/p>\n

To strengthen the steel, you simply add the carbon separately. It bonds into the metal rather than dispersing into the atmosphere. <\/span><\/p>\n

The other way to make green steel \u2014 the radical approach \u2014 is to scrap the blast furnace altogether and just zap the ore with renewable electricity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His company is trialing both methods, but Forrest and his team are far from being the only innovators in the industry as there\u2019s currently a lot of R&D going into creating fossil-free steel. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>One of the big players trying their hand at cracking the formula is <\/span>HYBRIT<\/a> (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology), a joint initiative between Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB, iron ore producer LKAB, and energy company Vattenfall.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s actually happening? <\/span><\/h2>\n

Earlier this year, they made the world\u2019s first hydrogen-reduced sponge iron at HYBRIT\u2019s pilot plant in Lule\u00e5. While the production process differs from conventional manufacturing, fossil-free steel retains the properties of traditional steel.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"vehicle
<\/i><\/a>Volvo launches the world\u2019s first autonomous vehicle made from fossil-free steel.<\/figcaption>