SteelWatch

How many ArcelorMittal employees do you think are concerned about the impact ageing infrastructure will have on the company's future? The FutureWork survey says one in four. A company that claims to be “committed to playing a leading role in decarbonising the steel industry” must focus on getting rid of old coal-based infrastructure and technology, and investing in new modern and clean technology. Transformation is inevitable. Time to get on with it. #arcelormittal #steelmanufacturing #iron #steel #careers #organisationalculture #workculture #climateaction #environmentalprotection #climate #climatecrisis

Great chart from Michael Liebreich showing that from a climate point of view, using green hydrogen to decarbonise steel is better than any other use of green hydrogen. In fact it is one of the top uses of renewable electricity from an emissions-saving lens. Deploying 1 TWh of renewable electricity saves over 500,000 tonnes of CO2 if deployed into green hydrogen for direct reduction of iron oxides (H2-DRI process) to feed steel making. You can see on his chart, that compared to the other listed applications of green hydrogen, this is the ONLY one that enables CO2 abatement in a comparable order of magnitude as direct electrification. Using renewable electricity for direct electrification is usually more efficient than making hydrogen (compare the bottom and top of this chart) because there are inevitable losses stemming from the conversion of electricity to hydrogen. But in steel-making, the emissions savings are so high that they compete well as a top use of renewable electricity. And in steel there is no commercial direct electrification option yet. An important clarification though: what Michael Liebreich labels on his chart as “Hydrogen for steel manufacturing” only applies to replacing coal-burning blast furnaces with green H2-DRI. There are other applications of hydrogen in iron- and steelmaking, notably hydrogen injection in blast furnaces, but they offer far lower CO2 abatement per unit of hydrogen. Do not confuse the two! SteelWatch will soon publish more to explain this topic, but for now the top take-aways: 1) in order to cut CO2 emissions, producing green hydrogen and consuming it in the steel industry is a highly valuable use of renewable electricity, 2) the most climate-efficient use of green hydrogen across sectors is to use it for reducing iron for steel-making, 3) but within the steel industry, that currently applies only to H2-DRI. If you want to know the basis of the calculation that 1 TWh saves half a million tonnes of CO2, it’s this: ▪️ 1 kg of hydrogen used for H2-DRI ironmaking avoids around 25 kg of CO2 emissions that would have otherwise been emitted from coal-fired, blast furnace-based ironmaking; ▪️ existing electrolysers need approximately 50 kWh of electricity to produce 1 kg of hydrogen. #hydrogen #steel #greenhydrogen

📢📢ALERT Nippon Steel Corporation has just increased its investment in coal mining, positioning it as a serious threat to global efforts to halt catastrophic climate change, especially considering it wants to become the world’s third largest steelmaker with the acquisition of the U.S. Steel. Toko Tomita, SteelWatch Campaign Director, reacted: “Nippon Steel’s appetite for coal should alarm everyone committed to keeping average global temperatures to 1.5C. While the world races to decarbonise, Nippon Steel is racing to dig up more coal.” Read more here👉👉ow.ly/coT350T4az3 #NipponSteel #JFESteel #climateaction #steel #decarbonisation Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCSR) Kenta Kubokawa

Nippon Steel Corporation’s and JFE Steel Corporation’s take of Australia’s Blackwater coal stake delays steel decarbonisation. Today, the two Japanese major steel makers announced investment in Australia’s Blackwater coal. Nippon Steel describes met coal for steelmaking as "essential to [its] business strategy”, but it's a choice, and a terrible one. The only way forward is reducing coal use as quickly as possible, not securing supply for the long term. Nippon Steel's choice is a risk for its business, and a threat to anyone that cares about keeping global temperatures to 1.5C >> https://ow.ly/fPGV50T3QyQ #NipponSteel #JFESteel #metcoal #steel #climate #decarbonisation

Another telling result from the FutureWork survey is that almost half of ArcelorMittal employees don’t trust the company to follow through on their social and environmental commitments. We're not surprised. When ArcelorMittal bought their steel plant in Zenica, Bosnia, in 2004, they made several commitments they’ve since failed to meet. The Centre for Investigative Reporting (CIN) also found that ArcelorMittal’s operations there violated many environmental permits. Our analysis of their climate action shows that this year alone they’ve backtracked significantly on promises to introduce Innovative- or Hydrogen-DRI technology at its plants to help produce near-zero steel 👉👉https://bit.ly/3X8PtGF “Steel for People and Planet” needs more than empty promises. #arcelormittal #steelmanufacturing #iron #steel #airpollution #soilpollution #bosnia #zenica

This FutureWork survey also revealed that most ArcelorMittal employees felt that industry competition and NOT environmental concerns guided their decarbonisation strategy. As our Director Caroline Ashley said to FT recently, ArcelorMittal, as the world’s second-largest steelmaker, is a market shaper, not a market taker (read more 👉 https://bit.ly/3X4JrXk). It has the potential to be a real climate champion, not just struggle to keep up with its competitors. It has to put people and the planet first. #arcelormittal #steelmanufacturing #iron #steel #careers #organisationalculture #workculture #climateaction #environmentalprotection #climate #climatecrisis

So we just saw this FutureWork 2024 Steel Industry Survey, where industry employees were asked to reflect on their job security, company values and organisational culture, and the results are really interesting. Almost half (47%!) of ArcelorMittal employees feel that when it comes to social and environmental responsibility, their company fails to walk the talk. As we’ve recently shown in our analysis of its climate actions, ArcelorMittal is well-known for backtracking on its climate ambition, and its refusal to commit to a 1.5C Paris Agreement limit pathway. It seems its employees are very aware of its failures here! #arcelormittal #steelmanufacturing #iron #steel #careers #organisationalculture #workculture #climateaction #parisagreement #climate #climatecrisis

A lot has happened in the twelve weeks since the Shiny Claims, Dirty Flames campaign against Olympic sponsor ArcelorMittal launched, writes campaign lead Pascal Husting. 🇧🇦 It was revealed that ArcelorMittal’s Zenica operations in Bosnia violated multiple environmental permits and failed to meet the obligations it agreed to when it bought the steelworks for a dollar. ArcelorMittal denies this, but the fact remains that Zenica has been ranked as one of the world’s most polluted cities for decades. 💨 🇮🇳 ArcelorMittal’s joint venture with Nippon Steel India was caught importing Russian coal in 2023, raising questions about its commitment to severing ties with Putin’s Russia 🇷🇺 🇮🇹 In Puglia, where ArcelorMittal held a majority stake in the enormous Taranto steelworks until February 2024, Italian prosecutors announced investigations for suspected fraud in the EU Emissions trading scheme 🔍 … on top of all that, it systematically backtracked on climate targets it set. It's not too late for ArcelorMittal to catch up, but right now it would not deserve any medals. Read his full piece now: https://lnkd.in/e9kKX7_g

Final call! Deadline 19th August

How is Olympic sponsor ArcelorMittal faring in the race to sustainable steel? Read our full thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/e9kKX7_g