Technologies and challenges for sustainable steel production: an overview

The steel sector, being one of the most environmentally polluting, will have to radically renew itself in the next years in order to meet the European climate and energy targets defined within the Paris Agreement. The traditional production method, based on the blast furnace, is the most widespread in the world but also the most polluting. In recent years, new unconventional technologies that make it possible to produce steel with limited or no Greenhouse Gas emissions have been developed. However, the application of these alternative sustainable technologies is hampered by technical, economical, organisational and regulatory barriers. Nowadays, there is no clear defined business path for steelmakers to limit their environmental impact, especially because the transition from the traditional technologies to green ones involves large investments. Moreover, companies struggle in identifying most promising technologies from a systemic economic, social, and geographical perspective, as certain solutions seem suitable for some but not for others, given the different availability of energy resources, raw materials, and financing. For these reasons, steel producers are in a situation of great uncertainty, not even receiving specific direction from policymakers, who could provide helpful guidance with a better organised framework of incentives and constraints. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the most recent available technologies for the sustainable production of steel, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of each, based on a critical review of the extant literature. This research aims at supporting companies from a managerial and strategic point of view in understanding the conditions under which it is more economically, geographically, and socially advantageous to adopt these technologies for producing green steel, outlining at the same time the most common barriers.