AISI Honored for Promotion of Energy-Efficient Economies
08/03/2009 - The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy awards AISI with its Champion of Industrial Energy Efficiency Award for Achievement in Promoting Energy-Efficient Economies in the category covering Industrial Leadership.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) has awarded the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) with its Champion of Industrial Energy Efficiency Award for Achievement in Promoting Energy-Efficient Economies in the category covering Industrial Leadership. The award recognizes leadership and accomplishment in the energy efficiency field.
“The domestic steel industry is very appreciative of receiving this award as we have worked tirelessly to become the greenest place on the planet to make steel,” said AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson.
Under AISI’s leadership, the U.S. steel industry worked toward the reduction of its energy intensity since 1990 (the Kyoto base year). Through widespread implementation of new technologies including flat-rolled steelmaking via electric furnace and thin slab caster and application of advanced process modeling, increased recycling, and internal efficiencies, the U.S. steel industry has reduced energy use per ton of steel produced by 33 %.
AISI tracks energy intensity annually and publishes an industry average that its members can use to determine how their performance compares to the average. The system helps individual companies continue to strive for greater energy efficiencies, leading to reduced CO2 generation.
Over the past two decades, the U.S. steel industry has also initiated an innovative approach to increase the recycling of steel containers. This effort helped to increase this category’s recycling rate from the mid-teens in 1990 to 64.3% in 2007 (the latest rate published), positioning the steel package as the most recycled food and beverage package in the United States. The increased recycling rate also provides the U.S. steel industry with over one million extra tons of steel scrap per year, resulting in reduced energy consumption.
Many of the Institute’s research programs are conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and have been focused on process control, process modeling and energy improvements since 1990. Together, the domestic steel industry and DOE have invested over $70 million dollars of industry and government funds on the issue of energy efficiency.
ACEEE received 56 nominations for this year’s Champions of Energy Efficiency in Industry Award. Selection criteria were based on the nominee’s impact, innovation, and leadership in the energy efficiency field.
AISI is one of three 2009 “Champions” who were nominated by their peers and selected by the ACEEE Awards Committee. The awards were presented during the 2009 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the material of choice. AISI plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.
