Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Written by Becca Moczygemba
April 20, 2023
As the ISRI Convention and Expo this week in Nashville, Tenn., comes to a close, I’m sure everyone’s mind is on recycling. While green steel and sustainability have been buzzwords for some time now, evidence of change is growing.
You may recall the announcement of an alliance between US Steel, Equinor, and Shell to establish a hydrogen hub in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia tri-state area. Recently, the Ohio River Valley Institute released a report titled: Green Steel in the Ohio River Valley: The Timing is Right for the Rebirth of a Clean, Green Steel Industry. The report looks at US Steel’s Mon Valley Works in Pennsylvania as an example for transitioning from basic oxygen furnace (BOF) to electric-arc Furnace (EAF). It’s only 75 pages if you’re looking for some light reading. Jokes aside, the Ohio River Valley has been integral in the growth of the domestic steel industry, and it looks like it’s getting some TLC.
According to the report, full decarbonization of steel is within reach. Though technology can sometimes come at a higher cost than the traditional BOF, a combination of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy or H2, and direct-reduced iron (DRI) can aid steelmakers in reaching their goals.
Currently, there is no global standard for green steel; something the Global Steel Climate Council is working hard to establish. Though there is not a definition etched in stone, the report refers to it as being, “steel that is produced in any way that reduces its carbon footprint.” Of course, the low emissions can be derived from the type of energy a steel mill uses to the amount of scrap they use. Which is why it’s so important to have a set standard.
The tri-state hydrogen hub is currently in the development stages, and recently submitted its application to the US Department of Energy Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program (H2Hubs). If you’d like to read more, plans for the hub, a project summary, and an interactive map of the infrastructure concept, can be found on the Decarbonization Network of Appalachia’s website.
By Becca Moczygemba, becca@steelmarketupdate.com
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Becca Moczygemba
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Final thoughts
SMU has heard from some larger buyers who have stepped back into the market to buy at prices that, if not at a bottom, they assess to be close to one. Is it enough to stretch out lead times and send prices upward again? Or do we continue to scrape along the mid-$600s per short ton (st) as we have been doing for most of the last month?
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Final thoughts
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.
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Final thoughts
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, when you add in some commentary from respected peers in the steel industry to those pictures, that may shoot you up to five thousand words, at least. In that spirit, we’ve added some snapshots from our market survey this week, along with some comments from market participants.
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I thought we’d have more clarity this week on Section 232, Mexico, and a potential carve-out for steel melted and poured in Brazil. As of right now, the only official comment I have is from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).
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Final thoughts
There are just 40 days left until the 2024 SMU Steel Summit gets underway on Aug. 26 at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. And I’m pleased to announce that it's official now: More than 1,000 people have registered to at attend! Another big development: The desktop version of the networking app for the event has officially launched!