|
11 May 2023
By
Katie Myers
Steel built the Rust Belt. Green steel could help
rebuild it.
Steel manufactured using hydrogen and powered
by renewable energy could
drastically reduce carbon emissions and employ a well-paid, industrial
workforce.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
In the Mon Valley of western Pennsylvania,
steel was once a way of life, one synonymous with the image of
rural, working-class Rust Belt communities. At its height in 1910,
Pittsburgh alone produced 25 million tons of it, or 60 percent of
the nation’s total. Bustling mills linger along the Monongahela
River and around Pittsburgh, but employment has been steadily
winding down for decades.
Though President Trump promised a return to the idealized vision of
American steelmaking that Bruce Springsteen might sing about, the
industry has changed since its initial slump four decades ago. Jobs
declined 49 percent between 1990 and 2021, when increased efficiency
saw the sector operating at its highest capacity in 14 years.
Despite ongoing supply chain hiccups and inflation, demand continues
growing globally, particularly in Asia. But even as demand for this
essential material climbs, so too does the pressure to decarbonize
its production.
Earlier this month, the progressive Ohio River Valley Institute
released a study that found a carefully planned transition to
“green” steel — manufactured using hydrogen generated with renewable
energy — could be a climatic and economic boon. It argues that as
countries work toward achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, a green
steel boom in western Pennsylvania could help the U.S. meet that
goal, make its steel industry competitive again, and employ a
well-paid industrial workforce.
“A transition to fossil fuel-free steelmaking could grow total jobs
supported by steelmaking in the region by 27 percent to 43 percent
by 2031, forestalling projected job losses,” the study noted.
“Regional jobs supported by traditional steelmaking are expected to
fall by 30 percent in the same period.”
In a world struggling to keep global climate
change below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the
traditional coke-based process of making steel, which uses coal to
power the furnaces that melt iron ore, remains a big problem. The
industry generates 7.2 percent of all carbon emissions worldwide,
making it more polluting than the entire European Union. Old-school
steel manufacturing relies on metallurgical coal — that is,
high-quality, low-moisture coal, which still releases carbon, sulfur
dioxide, and other pollutants. About 70 percent of today’s steel is
made that way, much of it produced cheaply in countries with lax
environmental regulations. However, only 30 percent of U.S.
production uses this method.
Technological improvements and pressure to reduce emissions have led
to increased use of leftover, or “scrap,” steel during production.
When products made of traditional, coke-based steel have reached the
end of their useful life, they can be returned to the furnace and
recycled almost infinitely. This reduces the labor needed to produce
the same amount and quality of steel as traditional production
methods, and it accounts for about 70 percent of the nation’s
output.
The scrap is melted in an electric arc furnace and uses hydrogen,
rather than coke, to process iron ore. It requires less energy than
traditional methods, particularly if renewable energy powers the
furnace and generates the hydrogen. Nick Messenger, an economist who
worked on the Institute’s study, believes this approach could
revitalize the Rust Belt by placing the region at the forefront of
an innovation the industry must inevitably embrace.
“What we actually show is that by doing that three-step process and
doing it all close to home in Pennsylvania,” he said, “each step of
that process has the potential to create jobs and support jobs in
the community” — from building and operating solar panels and
turbines, to operating electrolyzers to produce electricity, to
making the steel itself.
A blast furnace at a steel mill in
Salzgitter, Germany. PLUS49 / CONSTRUCTION PHOTOGRAPHY / AVALON /
GETTY IMAGES
The study claims a business-as-usual approach
would follow current production and employment trends, leading to a
30 percent reduction in jobs by 2031. A transition to hydrogen-based
electric arc manufacturing could increase jobs in both the steel and
energy industries by as much as 43 percent. The study calls western
Pennsylvania an ideal location for this transition, given its
proximity to clean water, an experienced workforce, and 22,200 watts
of wind and solar energy potential.
To make it work for the Mon Valley, the study notes, manufacturers
must get started as soon as possible. The quest for green steel
isn’t just an ideological matter, but a question of global economic
power. “There’s a huge new race, in a sense, to get in on the ground
floor,” Messenger said. “When you’re the first one, you attract the
types of capital, you attract the types of businesses and
entrepreneurs and industries that cause that kind of flourishing
boom to happen around this particular sector.”
The Ohio Valley’s fabled steel mills may be looking, if cautiously,
toward a decarbonized future. Two years ago, U.S. Steel canceled a
$1.3 billion investment in the Mon Valley Works complex, citing, in
part, its net-zero goals and the need to switch to electric arc
steel production. Of course, the biggest challenge is that while the
Mon Valley has massive wind energy potential, very little of it has
been tapped. But thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, federal
subsidies and tax breaks could give clean energy developers a boost.
The Biden administration has shown faith in green steel through a
series of grant programs, subsidies and tax credits, including $6
billion in the Inflation Reduction Act to decarbonize heavy
industry. But Europe has the advantage. Nascent projects in Sweden,
Germany, and Spain dot the European Union, with the United Kingdom
close behind. Some are using hydrogen, but others are experimenting
with biochar, electrolysis, or other ways to power the electric arc
process.
In the United States, a company called Boston Metal is experimenting
with an oxide electrolysis model, hoping to make the U.S. a leader
in green steel technology. This model eliminates the need for coal
by creating a chemical reaction that emulates the reaction that
turns iron ore into steel. The company is in the process of
commercializing its technology and plans to license it to steel
manufacturers. Adam Rauwerdink, the company’s senior vice president
of business development, hopes to see its first adopter by 2026.
Rauwerdink believes the world is moving away from traditional steel
manufacturing and that U.S. companies will be playing catch up if
they don’t adapt. He has seen more and more companies and investors
get on board in the past five years, including ArcelorMittal, the
world’s second biggest steel producer. It invested $36 million in
Boston Metal this year. He considers that investment a clear sign
that the race for green steel is on, and it’s time for manufacturers
to embrace the technology — or get left behind.
“Historically, you would have built a steel plant near a coal mine,”
he said. “Now you’re going to be building it where you have clean
power.”
This story has been updated to clarify that Boston Metal is still
commercializing its technology.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
509 995 1879 Cell,
Pacific Time Zone.
General office: 509-254
6854
4501 East Trent Ave.
Spokane, WA 99212
|
