September 6th, 2019 by Steve Hanley Industry depends on steel to make the cars, appliances, and other consumer goods that are at the heart of the global economy. It is also used to construct the buildings that define many world cities and the bridges that connect those cities. But making steel accounts for about 9% of all carbon emissions, according to the World Steel Association . Credit: World Steel Association The way steel is made has not changed significantly in the past 150 years. Iron ore is smelted in huge blast furnaces that use carbon-rich coke — a form of coal — as a reducing agent to turn the iron into steel. Those furnaces belch out huge amounts of carbon dioxide, and it’s not like the iron ore just shows up at the furnaces unaided. Mining it and transporting it creates lots more carbon emissions. Climate activists have been hammering the steel industry for years to clean up its emissions. Now a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance claims hydrogen could replace coke in 10 to 50% of all steelmaking my the year 2050, given the right carbon pricing. Using hydrogen instead of coke — a process known […]
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