02/14/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 02/14/2024 07:44
We will remain a reliable producer of premium quality steel products. These products will continue to improve because we will reduce the emissions generated during their manufacture. greentec steel creates the technical preconditions for this transition, and is simultaneously Austria's large climate protection program.
In the future, there will be two routes to producing high quality steel: using either a blast furnace and converter, or an electric arc furnace (EAF). Both process routes have been in use for decades, and successfully applied according to their strengths. However, climate change is encouraging significant enhancements to the traditional EAF route. The high level of CO2 emissions generated by the large quantities of coke consumed in the blast furnace route can be significantly reduced using an EAF- assuming sufficient availability of green electricity.
We are known for producing excellent steel using both methods. However, we can only achieve our goal of CO2-reduced steel production with an EAF. greentec steel is our decarbonization program that takes a phased approach to reducing CO2 emissions. We will reduce emissions by 30% as early as 2027 by commissioning the first EAFs in Donawitz and Linz, and simultaneously shutting down a blast furnace at each site.
For decades, work has gone into optimizing the blast furnace and converter route in which coke is added to reduce iron ore, producing liquid, carbon-rich pig iron. In the LD converter, oxygen is then blown over the pig iron to remove unwanted elements. The next step is to process the crude steel according to customer specifications.
Producing crude steel in an EAF is also a tried-and-tested method. The main difference to the blast furnace route lies in the energy and raw material sources. Using electricity generated from renewables is a key step in decarbonizing steel production. In this route, scrap largely replaces iron ore. Depending on availability and quality requirements, liquid pig iron or HBI (hot briquetted iron) can also be used. The materials fed into the EAF are heated by an electric arc and melted. After tapping an EAF, the next step is processing the crude steel using the standard secondary metallurgy processes.
The use of an EAF changes the landscape of our crude steel production significantly. The primary advantage of an EAF is the lower CO2 emissions:
To be honest, using only EAFs also poses some challenges. These include:
Research and development work at voestalpine is developing technologies to master these challenges. For example, we are improving the options for preparing and sorting scrap.
It is clear that the transformation of the steel industry is also having an impact on occupational profiles. The technological shift to EAFs is creating new perspectives for voestalpine's current and future employees. Therefore when it comes to greentec steel, no jobs will be lost following decommissioning of the first blast furnace. Once you are part of voestalpine, you remain a part of voestalpine.
Within the framework of our focus greentec steel, we provide an overview of our concrete steps on the way towards long-term CO2-neutral steel production and the innovative processes we are using on this way. We provide information about the challenges we face and the breakthrough technologies we are already researching today in order to achieve our goal of CO2-neutral steel production by 2050.