Hydrogen sparks change for the future of green steel production

Steel might exist as a crucial product in modern societies, but it’s also a major source of CO2 emissions. So what kind of a role could green steel play in the path towards net zero? While it’s currently twice as expensive as less climate-friendly alternatives, it brings a multitude of benefits – and only a small price increase for steel-heavy products

Steel’s sustainability dilemmas

Here’s the dilemma: steel is a key material in modern societies. It provides us with houses, bridges, modes of transport and essential equipment and products. It isn’t simply a relic of the old industrial revolution – steel is also crucial in a low-carbon economy. Green modes of transportation like electric vehicles, electric buses and trains require vast amounts of steel, as do wind turbines and electrolysers. So it is a pity that steel production is also a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Greener alternatives still have to prove themselves and are often viewed as prohibitively expensive in a highly competitive market. Thoroughly transforming production processes takes years, so change is often desperately slow.