In a June 5 letter addressed to David Johanson, chairman of the ITC, Tai urges the commission to collect data on GHG emissions from makers of steel and aluminum.

Steel Manufacturers Association member companies make some of the cleanest, lowest-GHG steel in the world, using electric arc furnaces to melt scrap and turn it into the steel that goes into America’s buildings, bridges, railways, automobiles, and household appliances. EAF steelmaking is more energy efficient than traditional steelmaking, with 75 percent fewer CO2 emissions and less environmental impact.

Read the letter here.

“We have an existing and proven way that’s fully commercialized and done on a large scale to make lower-carbon steel,” SMA President Philip K. Bell told Marketplace Morning Report. He was referring of course to electric arc furnace, or EAF, steelmaking, which uses electricity to turn ferrous scrap into new steel. Today, more than 70 percent of American steel is made that way, and that share is expected to grow.

The story included positive comments about the Global Steel Climate Council, an international coalition of steel producers and stakeholders committed to achieving a 1.5-degree scenario by the year 2050 and establishing a global steel standard that leads toward a cleaner future. The GSCC Steel Climate Standard is available online now for review and public comment.

You can listen to the Marketplace Morning Report story and read the transcript at https://www.marketplace.org/2023/05/22/the-steel-sector-is-carbon-intensive-green-steel-could-be-a-game-changer/

About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for almost 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st-century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information, check out our website at www.steelnet.org or our LinkedIn page.

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“The problem with hydrogen is availability, transport and all the retrofitting of equipment,” he said. “Why would you invest billions of dollars in this when you have electric furnaces making pretty clean steel already? … Ultimately, I think there will be a role hydrogen plays, but it’s going to take more investment and take much longer than people realize.”

Read more: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/clean-hydrogen-biden-demand-houston-17920018.php.

Compared to traditional ore-based steel manufacturing processes, steel production using recycled scrap emits an estimated 78 percent less carbon emissions per ton of steel. But some analysts argue that the limited global availability of ferrous (i.e., iron and steel) scrap hinders the ability of this production method to decarbonize steel manufacturing. That view is based on assessing the lifespan of steel products at approximately 40 years. However, the report provides new calculations in key scrap-producing countries that steel lifespans may be lower, in the range of 25 and 35 years, making more scrap available sooner than with longer lifespans to satisfy the demand for global steel production.

The report, entitled Ferrous Scrap’s Role in Decarbonizing Steel: Assessing Steel Product Lifespans, is co-authored by Dr. Thomas Brady, executive director of the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities & Energy Management at the University of Colorado Denver, and Dr. Roderick Eggert, professor of economics and business at the Colorado School of Mines.

“By calculating lower steel product lifespans, the report supports the argument there will be enough scrap to enable a widescale industry transition to electric arc furnaces,” said Philip K. Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association.

The study reinforces the important role that ferrous scrap will play in decarbonizing the global steel industry. “The difference between a 40-year lifespan and a 25-year lifespan is significant and illustrates the importance of policies to promote scrap recycling. By increasing recycling rates, we can accelerate steel decarbonization efforts,” said Bell.

The report estimates average steel product lifespans in nine key steel producing and consumer countries. In five of the nine countries surveyed, the implied product lifetime is approximately 35 years (Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan and the United States). China and the United Kingdom have the lowest implied lifespans, at approximately 25 years. Mexico and South Korea have lifespans between

25 and 36 years. A weighted average of the product lifespan for these nine countries (based on 2022 raw steel production volumes) is approximately 30 years.

In mature steel markets, robust scrap collection and recycling systems are in place and a significant amount of manufacturing or process scrap is already recycled soon after it is created. In the United States, for example, scrap-based electric arc furnace production accounts for 70 percent of domestic steel production. In developing countries, the infrastructure and economic incentives to collect and process scrap efficiently will grow, which will likely increase the amount of available scrap. Decarbonization will strongly incentivize the transition to scrap-based production, the report concludes.

Read the full report.

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About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for almost 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st-century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information, check out our website at www.steelnet.org or our LinkedIn page.

The Steel Manufacturers Association is a founding member of GSCC, which today has nearly 40 member companies. Together they have steelmaking or scrap processing operations in 79 countries.

The standard focuses on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global steel industry with a science-based glidepath to reduce emissions in line with the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to achieve a 1.5º C scenario.

The standard offers a technology-agnostic protocol that would apply to all steel producers equally on a global basis and would enable steel customers to know and compare the actual carbon emissions associated with steel products.

GSCC is one of several groups and companies advocating for a global standard. Some in the United States and Europe are promoting a standard that features a “ferrous scrap usage sliding scale” – one standard for steel made from traditional production processes and another for steel made from circular processes.

“Creating a dual standard would allow high-carbon emissions steel to be prioritized over lower-carbon steel. This is a form of greenwashing and serves to discourage innovation and allows high-carbon steelmakers to postpone making changes in their production process,” said Phil Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association.

In publishing its standard, the GSCC is inviting interested organizations to review The Steel Climate Standard and submit comments, which are due by May 17, 2023.

The full text of the document and guidelines on submitting comments can be found at https://globalsteelclimatecouncil.org.

“We believe SMA shares our vision that the enduring power of steel makes the world a better place,” Williams said. “We look forward to partnering with our fellow SMA member companies to pursue smart policy on trade and regulation while strengthening the American steel industry’s global leadership in sustainability and environmental justice.”

Founded in 1917 and established as a standalone public company in 2014, TimkenSteel is a provider of high-quality specialty steel (including special bar quality steel and seamless mechanical tube products), manufactured components, and supply chain solutions. It has an annual melt capacity of 1.2 million tons and a ship capacity of 900,000 tons. The company serves mobile, industrial, and energy sectors, with targeted growth in electric vehicle, defense, and renewable applications.

TimkenSteel has steelmaking operations in Canton, Ohio, manufacturing facilities in Eaton, Ohio, and Columbus, North Carolina, and a distribution center in Mexico. The company has 1,700 employees.

SMA President Philip K. Bell said, “We are pleased to welcome TimkenSteel to the SMA. The company has made steel in Canton, Ohio, for more than a hundred years, combining tradition and innovation to create value. TimkenSteel will add to the growing group of American steelmakers committed to innovation, a lower carbon future, and 21st century steelmaking.”

About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for over 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information check out our website at www.steelnet.org or our LinkedIn page.

“I would urge caution on thinking that government trade policies alone can guide and dictate paths to reduce excess capacity and decarbonization,” Bell said. “Market forces and technology advances will also be a part of the equation. Contrast the United States — without a cost of carbon — which decarbonized and rationalized its steel industry much faster than the EU steel industry, which has a cost of carbon and allowances assigned principally to support the highest emission blast furnace producers. This has stymied the development and adoption of EAF, DRI, and hydrogen-based steelmaking, which most see as an essential part of a lower carbon future for steel. Also, a sliding scale standard is not ambitious and delays market pressure to decarbonize and reduce inefficient capacity.”

About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for almost 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information check out our website at www.steelnet.org or our LinkedIn page.

About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for almost 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information check out our website at www.steelnet.org   or our LinkedIn page.

In a February 22 letter to the White House, members of the Congressional Steel Caucus asked the administration to “maintain the Section 232 tariffs and quotas, ensure strong trade remedy laws that address unfair trade practices, and protect our environment from high-emission foreign steel production.” The letter was signed by a bipartisan group of 37 members of Congress.

“SMA’s member companies represent more than 70 percent of American steel production and have transformed the American steel industry through the production of the highest quality steel, with the lowest emissions, found anywhere in the world,” Bell said. “We are proud to work with the Congressional Steel Caucus to encourage the Biden administration to maintain and enforce America’s trade laws as it encourages our trading partners to follow our roadmap for sustainable steel production.”

Making steel by melting scrap in electric arc furnaces (EAFs) rather than using newly mined iron ore in coal-fired blast furnaces reduces emissions by about 75 percent. SMA members use EAFs.

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 authorizes the president to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports, with exemptions for Canada and Mexico, to protect our national security. Section 232 tariffs on steel imports have been in effect since March 8, 2018.

About the SMA

SMA is the largest steel industry trade association in the United States and is the primary trade association representing North American EAF steel producers. EAF steelmakers account for almost 70 percent of domestic steelmaking capacity using an innovative, 21st century production process that is less energy-intensive and has lower carbon emissions than traditional steelmaking. For more information check out our website at www.steelnet.org   or our LinkedIn page.