A THOUGHT FOR THE ROAD
OPINION
Consolidation and mergers ahead
Making steel in the 2020s As we enter not just a new year but a new decade, the steel industry continues to face its traditional challenges - overcapacity, restructuring and trade frictions to name just a few. In addition, a number of other pressures will become increasingly significant. Edwin Basson, Director General of global steel association worldsteel takes a look at issues that will caracterise the decade. AUTHOR: Edwin Basson
developed a matrix for our 30 most important material inputs and their assour customers and society at ciated sustainability risks depending on where they are sourced from. In the large are demanding greater transparency and accountability new year we will be widening the scope in all aspects of our work, especially of our work on steel scrap, something with respect to safety, environmental that will become increasingly important and labour standards. this decade as the availability of scrap increases and we see The tragedy at the Brumadinho iron ore mine in the a higher percentage of global early part of last year highcrude steel produced by recylights the importance of this cling scrap in electric arc furwork to the steel industry in naces. particular. Responding to presThe activism of Greta sure from their own custoThunberg, Extinction Rebelmers, the construction, autolion and others has heightmotive and other sectors want Edwin Basson ened public awareness of to know more and more about climate change. Having worhow our products are made and where ked with worldsteel for some time now, and how we source our raw materials. the International Energy Agency (IEA) Supply chain management and rewill this year publish its technology roadporting will become a critical part of map for the steel industry, which will set our industry’s licence to operate. Inout a strategy for decoupling increases deed, we may see our raw material supin steel production from related CO2 pliers wanting to work with us more emissions. We as an energy intensive closely than ever before to show their sector with hard-to-abate CO2 emissions stakeholders that we are using their will have to clearly explain why decarboproducts responsibly. worldsteel’s Susnising the global economy will be a steeltainability Reporting Expert Group has intensive process. It will partly depend
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MPT International / March 2020
on our 100 % and infinitely recyclable material. We will also have to communicate the capital-intensive and technically demanding work our members are doing in developing breakthrough technologies that will see virgin steel produced with net zero carbon. This includes technologies that reduce iron ore with renewably-produced hydrogen and which thus reduce the need for coking coal. Although such technologies will likely not be commercially viable in the next decade, worldsteel, through its step up programme, will in the meantime work with its members to drive short and medium-term process efficiency gains in raw material quality, energy efficiency, process yield and process reliability, all of which will reduce the industry’s impact on the climate. Our industry is already making headway in responding to these new pressures, but there remains much to do. Fortunately, both the steel industry and steel as a product already play an important role in driving the sustainability that society expects. www.worldsteel.org
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