Race to Green Steel calls on automakers to switch to low-carbon steel

A coalition of non-profit organizations has launched the Race to Green Steel campaign to encourage automakers to use green steel in their cars. This is stated on the initiative’s website.

«Due to the industry’s heavy reliance on coal, steel is currently responsible for 30-50% of emissions from cars. Clean energy technologies such as green hydrogen have the potential to replace coal in the steelmaking process, but the industry must start scaling up this technology today,» the initiative said.

The campaign is the result of a joint effort led by Climate Group (#SteelZero), Industrious Labs, CALSTART Green Steel Program and The International Council on Clean Transportation. It aims to support companies in developing green steel targets and investing in innovative technologies.

Most automakers have already pledged to reduce emissions from their supply chains. At least two major U.S. companies, Ford and General Motors, have signed contracts to supply low-carbon steel. Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have also signed preliminary agreements to purchase green steel produced at the plants being built in Sweden by SSAB and H2 Green Steel.

The Race to Green Steel campaign aims to build on previous efforts by automakers in this area and increase pressure on the steel industry to build facilities that run on hydrogen or renewable energy.

In particular, the initiative proposes that automakers assess the environmental impact of the steel products they currently use and commit to purchasing at least 10% low-carbon steel by 2030.

As GMK Center reported earlier, by 2050, the share of low-carbon technologies in the steel industry will more than double from the current 26% to over 60% of total steel production. This forecast was made by Alexander Fleischanderl, Global Head of Green Steel at Primetals Technologies, at a specialized conference.