Speaking during the 2022 Town Hall Forum, a signature event at AISTech, AIST’s annual conference and exposition, several steel industry executives said they believe nuclear power will have to be in play to fulfill decarbonization objectives. 
 
“I think we have to look at nuclear,” said ArcelorMittal North America chief executive John Brett. Brett noted that in Canada, nuclear energy fulfills 68% of the power needs of one of its facilities there. 
 
But in the U.S., nuclear energy, as a proportion of the country’s overall electricity generation, accounts for less than 20%, the lowest among developed countries, according to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. chief executive Lourenco Goncalves. 
 
Goncalves said the conversion from coal to natural gas has only taken the country so far; the next step will be to employ nuclear, the one type of power generation that will be able to meet all of its needs without contributing to carbon emissions.
 
Mark Millett, Steel Dynamics Inc. chief executive, agreed. 
 
“The only way that the world can evolve electrically is to have a mode of generation that is as intensive,” he said during the discussion.
 
This year’s Town Hall, which marked the 20th year for the event, was unique in that it featured five chief executives from the country’s leading steel producers.   
 
You can watch the replay of the entire conversation here.