Steel Mills

U.S. Steel Targets Net-Zero Emissions By 2050

Written by David Schollaert

April 22, 2021

Integrated steelmaker U.S. Steel Corp. announced plans to become carbon neutral by 2050, on top of its existing goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 20% across the company’s global footprint by 2030. The use of electric-arc furnaces (EAFs) and other advanced technologies will be crucial to achieving such significant carbon emission reductions, the company said.

“Climate change is a global crisis that requires a global response,” said U.S. Steel President and CEO David Burritt. “Today, by announcing our net-zero goal, U.S. Steel is committing to doing our part to support the Paris Agreement on climate change to achieve global carbon neutrality by 2050. With our 120-year history of innovating to solve any challenge, U.S. Steel intends to be a part of the climate solution.”

U.S. Steel plans to do so by using EAFs, DRI (direct-reduced iron), and renewable energy as well as carbon capture and suquestration technology. It will also look to public-private collaboration across industries to develop reliable sources of carbon-neutral power. The access to high capacity carbon-neutral electricity will be a major component to this goal. Although low-carbon power is growing in accessibility, carbon-neutral electricity is not readily available as large-scale renewable generation and zero greenhouse gas emission technologies are still being developed.

“We are dedicated to producing the steels that are essential to our daily lives and innovating to solve the challenges our customers face,” Burritt continued. “Climate change is the challenge of this generation and doing our part is a core component of our ‘Best for All’ strategy for profitable growth. We believe that we have a path forward that allows us to profitably produce sustainable steels well into the future, and we know that when businesses, governments and people work together to improve our shared destiny, transformative innovations can follow.”

U.S. Steel’s commitment to achieve significant carbon emission reductions is demonstrated by its acquisition of EAF steelmaker Big River Steel; introduction of a new sustainable steel product line, verdeX, an advanced high-strength steel that uses one-quarter of the carbon intensity currently required for comparable products; and most recently becoming the first North American-based steel company to join ResponsibleSteel, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible practices in steelmaking, the company said.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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