“Across the world, the direction of travel is set. We are moving toward a carbon-neutral world. Pressure will only grow. Demand for sustainably produced metals will grow. And regulation will intensify,” said Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman and chief executive of LIBERTY Steel Group.   

During the annual conference, which brings together steel industry leaders throughout the world, Gupta and others urged the industry to take action, and quickly. Gupta noted that the industry is responsible for 9% of global emissions. At the same time, demand is expected to grow is over the next 30 years, given steel’s necessity to society. That, he said, will place a greater responsibility on the industry. 

“Clearly something will have to give,” he said. 

He said that as steel companies take action, they should increasingly consider working together, as companies in other sectors have. Maybe, he said, those cooperative efforts will come in the form of new joint ventures, alliances or shared research and development efforts.  

“To find new technologies, this is a chapter we'll need to write together, and I am keen to start writing,” he said. 

T.V. Narendran, chief executive and managing director at Tata Steel, echoed those comments. 

“Climate change is not a regulatory issue. It is an existential issue,” he said.

Narendran said other industrial sectors are reinventing themselves, and steel must do the same. 

Based on the discussion during the conference, a reinvention is likely to include electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking paired with hydrogen-based direct reduction, all powered by renewable energy. 

Nucor Corp. chief executive Leon Topalian noted that in the U.S., EAF steelmaking has helped to reduce the domestic industry’s carbon footprint by 45% over the last 40 years. 

“The footprint will continue to shrink as the energy grid becomes greener,” he said.  

But he said the steel industry will need enabling advancements from other sectors, such as utility-scale battery storage to meet baseload needs of large mills. He also said policymakers will have to work toward policies that encourage the technological innovations necessary to reduce emissions and expand the use of renewable energy. 

He expressed optimism that the industry can rise to the challenge. 

“We can ensure that steel is the sustainable alternative for a greener and more energy-efficient world.”