An industry in revolution

PERSPECTIVES

An industry in a revolution

The versatility of steel keeps Wayne Bridger*optimistic, but, he says, the short-term challenges need to be addressed. Energy prices, market volatility, and geopolitical issues are now established obstacles within the industry, but despite this, BOC is focused on both growth and productivity – ensuring the industry keeps moving forward

1. How are things going at BOC? Is the steel industry keeping you busy? Things at BOC are great; as the largest UK and Ireland gases producer we are successfully continuing to grow our business despite the recent challenges – and the steel sector remains one of our key areas of focus.

2. What is your view on the current state of the global steel industry? As a UK operator we can only really comment on what we’re seeing here, but the challenges faced by all energy-intensive industries – including steel – appear to be similar regardless of geography. Geopolitical issues including energy cost inflation, the war in Ukraine, environmental concerns and decarbonization are all key issues that steel and other sectors must navigate. We believe steel is making progress in the development of detailed implementation plans, but the need for alignment and support for transition investment are the key to further progression.

3. In which sector of the steel industry does BOC mostly conduct its business? BOC’s parent company, Linde plc, is the global leading industrial gases supplier and it has a heavy presence across the steel making world. Similarly, BOC in the UK continues to be a key supplier to domestic steelmakers and we supply large gas volumes to blast furnace operations, steel conversion processing, downstream reheating and rolling and so on. BOC and Linde are present in all areas of the steelmaking operation, and we believe that as steelmaking begins to adopt low carbon operations, we will be a key technology and gases supplier into the future.

PERSPECTIVES

4. Where in the world are you busiest at present? In recent decades the growth in steelmaking activity has been driven by market demand and access to natural resources including coal, consequently China and Asia were dominant features. As we move towards a low carbon future, the potential transition to hydrogen-based steelmaking may shift the balance of where steel is produced. 5. Where does BOC stand on the aluminium versus steel argument? That’s like asking me to pick a favourite child… BOC and Linde supply gases and leading technologies to both sectors and both materials have important and well-established markets, so we don’t take sides.

6. What are your views on Industry 4.0 and steelmaking and how, if at all, is BOC using it? The digitalization of industry as a fast-moving revolution is a compelling dream but the delivery is perhaps beyond many established manufacturing sectors’ capability currently. There is no doubt that the promise of greater efficiency, improved and consistent quality, reduced downtime and critically reduced emissions are all highly desirable for steel and other manufacturing sectors. Overcoming barriers to adoption such as improving resilience in harsh environments, enhancing data analytics and upskilling the existing workforce to support implementation will all contribute to the gradual expansion of digitalisation and smart automation.

7. Hydrogen steelmaking appears to be the next big thing. What’s your view? There is no doubt that as steelmaking takes steps to decarbonize, replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen is a critical step. We recognise that though the transition to hydrogen steelmaking has been demonstrated technically at a smaller scale, the logistical and economic challenges of hydrogen supply at a large scale continue. So as the leading industrial gases producer, BOC has a vital role and will need to support the steel sector during this scale-up transition. BOC has been a high-volume hydrogen producer for many decades so while hydrogen may be new to many, it is not new to BOC.

8. In your dealings with steel producers, are you finding that they are looking to companies like BOC to offer them solutions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainability? If so, what can you offer them? Yes, steel producers and other energy- intensive, high temperature processors are searching for energy efficiency and sustainable solutions, particularly as the effects of the current energy cost crisis continue to be felt. Historically, the high productivity role of oxygen in steelmaking has been the focus of much of BOC and Linde’s global efforts, in fact Steel Times International published the feature ‘25 years of CoJet technology for the EAF’ recently highlighting the benefits of productivity and the wider fuel and power savings effects of oxygen. Use of oxyfuel combustion is an important step on the pathway to decarbonization, reducing fuel consumption by 15-50%, and our technologies are ready for using hydrogen as fuel.

9. How quickly has the steel industry responded to ‘green politics’ in terms of making the production process more environmentally friendly and are they succeeding or fighting a losing battle? As a highly significant contributor to global CO2 emissions output, the steel sector needs to be very focused on the delivery of more sustainable steel making. There is no doubt that the transition to a low carbon future is highly challenging and costly and, therefore, the role of national governments to support steelmaking through this transition will be pivotal to its speed and success. The muchawaited Clean Steel Fund expected in 2023 will be a clear indicator of the ambitions of both steel producers and government. 10. Where does BOC lead the field in terms of steel production technology? In recent decades BOC and Linde have provided leading oxygen technology particularly in EAF steelmaking; we recently celebrated 25 years of CoJet technology, and we have hundreds of installations globally delivering productivity improvement, power savings and yield improvement. The Ovako reheating project – which will be implemented in permanent full scale next year – is a great example of our expertise in reheating and our well established and leading REBOX technology has hundreds of global installations providing throughput increases and fuel saving benefits to existing furnaces.

PERSPECTIVES

11. How do you view BOC’s development over the short-to-medium term in relation to the global steel industry? BOC has a very long track record in providing infrastructure and technology to allow steelmaking to function efficiently in the UK. Our expectation is that global steelmakers will move to adopt low carbon processes and, therefore, UK steelmaking will follow the trend. This shift is likely to require additional oxygen and hydrogen so BOC needs to be ready to respond to changes in demand for these key products.

12. What is BOC’s experience of the Chinese steel industry? BOC is a Linde company and BOC’s focus is on markets in the UK and Ireland so we have no direct interaction with Chinese steel producers. However, the recent investment by a Chinese steel producer into UK production is a positive sign that UK steelmaking remains viable and attractive in the global context.

13. Where do you see most innovation in terms of production technologies – primary, secondary or more downstream? If the key challenge is the decarbonization of steelmaking, primary production has to be the focus of innovation in order to achieve a low-carbon, cost competitive output. The role of hydrogen to replace coal in primary processing is an obvious focus for BOC but we also strongly advocate for oxygen in this context. The need to achieve maximum fuel efficiency, particularly if hydrogen costs remain high, means that utilization of oxygen must be considered alongside hydrogen as part of the decarbonization toolset.

14. How optimistic are you for the global steel industry going forward and what challenges face global producers in the short-to-medium term? The versatility of steel means that global demand will continue into the future and, therefore, global producers need to overcome the challenges of decarbonizing its production while maintaining an economic and sustainable cost base. The short-to- medium-term challenges are already evident in the volatility and cost of energy and this is likely to prevail as we transition towards a more scaled up and resilient hydrogen/low carbon-based energy sector. The scale up delivery of a decarbonized energy sector will determine how challenging and how long the transition period extends for and during this transition phase, the collaboration between steel producers and national governments will be critical.

15. What exhibitions and conferences will BOC be attending in over the next six months? BOC will be at the upcoming UK Metals Expo 14-15th September where Linde’s Joachim von Scheele will deliver a presentation ‘Decarbonising Steelmaking: Solutions and Pathways’. 16. BOC is headquartered in the UK, but what’s happening steel-wise in the country? UK steel producers are continuing to work hard on the development and deployment of their decarbonization roadmaps and this along with energy volatility are key areas of focus right now.

17. Apart from strong coffee, what keeps you awake at night? Growth. Like all businesses operating in challenging times, understanding how I can continue to achieve profitable growth is a concern. Working in an energy-intensive business I understand how important energy cost management is and the current cost volatility is immensely challenging for future growth.

18. If you possessed a superpower, how would you use it to improve the global steel industry? If a superpower existed to equalise the availability of natural resources and infrastructure globally so that all steel producers have access to a level playing field from a cost perspective, then the focus could shift quickly to productivity, technology and efficiency improvements to differentiate suppliers. That would be great for the sector and great for technology providers such as BOC and Linde.