New policy brief on the potential of scrap use for EU steel decarbonization
NDC ASPECTS has released a new policy brief on the potential of scrap use for EU steel decarbonization by Annika Tönjes and Süheyb Bilici from Wuppertal Institute. With a strong focus on supporting hydrogen-based primary steel production, scrap-based secondary steelmaking has received little attention as a decarbonization strategy for the EU steel industry. Increasing scrap use in steel production reduces fossil fuel use, CO2 emissions, overall energy use and resource extraction. Steel scrap is a domestically available resource. Increasing its use reduces import dependencies and takes pressure off the renewable energy production system. Increased use of electric arc furnaces allows for a flexible use of green iron and scrap, while new technologies can help improve scrap quality. Together, these developments enable the use of scrap for high-quality steel products. An adequate “green steel” definition and Ecodesign rules emphasizing circularity as well as low and stable electricity prices can help incentivize increased scrap use in EU steel production.