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First of Its Kind: Research Reveals Strategies to Decarbonize Primary Steel Production

  • an image of the cover of the report mentioned in this article

The Irving Institute's Director of Communications, Cate Homicki, served as a lead author of a significant report on decarbonizing primary steel production, recently published by the Clean Energy Buyers Association in November 2024.

Steel production is a major focus in global decarbonization efforts due to its highly carbon-intensive processes. In 2020, the production of all steel globally accounted for about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The new CEBA report, Powering United States Primary Steel Decarbonization​, quantifies the electricity needed to transition primary steel production to clean energy sources.

To significantly reduce emissions and meet global climate goals, the U.S. primary steel industry will need an additional 159 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity annually by 2050. The report outlines a range of advanced technologies that will be essential as they become market-ready, including hydrogen injection and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) for existing steel facilities, as well as new hydrogen-reduced iron production and electrification technologies.