Why green power is still rare in global steelmaking

The green energy deficit

The global steel industry uses renewable sources for just 1.94% of its total energy consumption.

The scale of the power required makes transition difficult, as producing a single tonne of crude steel consumes 20.95 gigajoules of energy. The World Steel Association calculates that this energy profile results in an average greenhouse gas intensity of 2.18 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of crude steel.

The dominance of the blast furnace

The sector’s reliance on fossil fuels is locked into its physical infrastructure. The basic oxygen furnace, which typically processes iron reduced by coal, accounts for 69.4% of global steel production.

This traditional metallurgical route has an average greenhouse gas intensity of 2.66 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of steel.

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Source institutions：World Steel Association

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