Barry Rust, Energy & Sustainability, Tata Steel, UK, looks at how the steel and pipeline manufacturing industry can reach its goals of decarbonisation.
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hile COVID-19 has led to a short-term decline in global crude steel output, longer-term forecasts suggest demand for steel will rise. Indeed, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has suggested that the global requirements will increase by more than a third through to 2050 as the world’s reliance on steel as the foundation for economic and social development grows.1 Steel is part of modern life. It has been a mainstay in the industrial development of many countries and it will have a vital role to play in our energy future. It is integral for the construction of pipelines for the oil and gas industry, the construction of many public and private buildings, and has an important role to play in the transition to greater renewable energy adoption through its use in the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels and tidal lagoons. However, the steel industry is one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide (CO2). Every tonne of steel produced in 2018 emitted on average 1.85 t of CO2, which equates to approximately 8% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions.2
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