| Return to Steel News Headlines| Print This Page |

Domestic Steel Industry Achieves Significant Reduction in Energy Intensity

May 4, 2004 — The United States steel industry has achieved a 17% reduction since 1990 in energy intensity per ton of steel shipped. Because of the close relationship between energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, the industry’s aggregate carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per ton of steel shipped were reduced by a comparable amount during this same period. These data were reported in a just-completed progress report to the Department of Energy (DOE).

“The steel industry has a standing commitment to sustainability,” said David S. Sutherland, Chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Chairman and CEO of Ipsco, Inc., “which is backed by significant investment in new technologies to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and heighten productivity.”

The American steel industry has been a leader in reducing energy intensity in the steel manufacturing process and correspondingly reducing greenhouse gas emissions through recycling and process innovation. The steel industry has further committed to achieving a 10% increase in sector-wide average energy efficiency by 2012, using a 2002 baseline of approximately 14 million BTU per ton of steel shipped as part of the DOE’s Climate VISION Program.

“To achieve this ambitious goal will be extremely difficult,” Sutherland said. “We believe it is possible, but we have to broaden and accelerate our research into new technologies. Our proposed partnership with DOE to fund the CO₂ Breakthrough Program is, therefore, critical to our success.”

Sutherland added that the industry is addressing the goal with a combination of restructuring, technological advancements, increased recycling and a wide variety of process improvements.

AISI is a non-profit association of North American companies engaged in the iron and steel industry. The Institute serves as the voice of the North American steel industry, speaking out on behalf of its members in the public policy arena and advancing the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. AISI is comprised of 32 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 118 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.

Close Window