The iron throne: Will green steel threaten Australia's iron ore fairytale?
Green steel is coming sooner than many thought possible. But while that’s good news for the energy transition, it may not augur well for billions of dollars in iron ore exports.
Until recently, Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel was better known for its financial difficulties than for pioneering innovation. But last month, the group’s Whyalla-based steelworks turned off its coking coal-fired ovens for good as part of its commitment to become the first in Australia to produce low-emissions steel using renewable energy.
With the company’s ageing blast furnace in need of an upgrade, Liberty had two options: build another coal-fired plant or take a chance on building an electric arc furnace – a nascent technology that, if successfully deployed, would put it at the forefront of a global green steel revolution. Not only would it reduce emissions at the plant by up to 90% but it would allow Liberty to produce 50% more steel than it does today.
“Coal-based steelmaking has helped to build the modern world,” Gupta said last month. “But it is now time to rethink and re-engineer how the steel we make can continue to build our world going forward.”
Liberty’s embrace of the electric arc furnace technology shows that stripping the CO2 emissions out of steelmaking may come to fruition sooner than many believe is possible.
