Keynote Session: Session 1: The tools for decarbonisation
Policy, finance, infrastructure

Steelmaking emits around 8% of global CO2 emissions. Consumer attitudes are however shifting to prioritise the health of our planet over cost concerns. As society’s building block, steel therefore needs to go green. The steel industry’s will to decarbonise is clear. But it, too, will need building blocks to be in place to ensure it can remove carbon from its value chain. This is no easy task since carbon has been used by man for centuries as a vital energy carrier. More than just playing a supporting role, policymakers, energy companies and financial institutions will need to adjust or completely overhaul long-established practices to enable the industry’s transition to drive forward. The European Commission has approved state aid to support the decarbonisation of several steelmakers. But certain critical components, such as sufficient low-cost renewable energy supply, and a developed market for green steel, remain missing, with industry looking to policymakers to take the lead. Will CBAM effectively support decarbonisation in Europe and encourage other regions to follow? How can banks and other traditional lenders support the energy transition? This session aims to bring together representatives of various “enabling” sectors – policymakers, finance, energy and hydrogen – to discuss how the foundations are being laid for steelmakers to build on and decarbonise their operations.

Format: 10-12 min presentations + Q&A

Topics:

• • How are policymakers supporting renewables capacity and green steel demand development?
• • What more needs to be done to ensure a green steel market?
• • Are governments providing guarantees to de-risk new technology?
• • What financing instruments are available for green steelmakers’ capex and opex?
• • How do banks assess a borrowers’ green credentials when providing finance?
• • Is state aid the new norm – how will this affect public finances/taxpayers?
• • Will Europe realistically be a green hydrogen producer or will feedstock imports dominate?
• • What are the challenges of CBAM?
• • What are the current hydrogen technology developments and cost dynamics?
• • Is producing green hydrogen in Europe viable? How can challenges be overcome?
• • How can renewable energy investments be accelerated?
• • Is nuclear power a solution to Europe’s energy problem?
• • Do the “greenlash” and rise of right-wing parties in Europe present a threat to energy transition investments?

☕ Coffee Break ☕

Session 2: Supplying low-emission inputs to demand areas
Metallics and scrap

The industry has accepted hydrogen is the future. Steelmakers in Europe, where the decarbonisation push is most prominent, have committed to direct reduced iron-making with a view to sourcing hydrogen within the region. However, doubts have emerged over the viability of hydrogen production in Europe. The industry is starting to digest the possibility iron-making will have to be outsourced to regions with better conditions for production. Hubs are seen emerging in the Middle East, Brazil and Australia that will supply demand centres like East Asia and Europe. This poses questions over stable intercontinental logistics amid rising global fragmentation, and over whether shipping companies can deliver product while keeping their emissions down. Limited raw materials supply will also pose a challenge. High-grade iron ore resources needed for direct reduction are depleting, while the current global scrap surplus is projected to turn into a deficit as mills look to use more of the feedstock. What is the outlook for raw materials demand and supply? And how are suppliers and logistics companies responding to the needs of decarbonisation? This session aims to bring together a raw materials miner, metallics producer, scrap processor, shipping company and consultancy to debate these issues.

Format: 10-15 min presentations + Q&A

Topics:

• • Does hydrogen-based DRI/HBI making have a future in Europe?
• • What is required to ensure effective green iron corridor operation?
• • How are iron ore miners responding to increasing requirement for higher-grade material?
• • What measures are scrap processors taking to secure high-quality supply?
• • How is steelmaking raw materials supply/demand likely to develop to 2030 and beyond?
• • What steps are shipping companies taking to ensure raw materials’ reduced embedded emissions?
• • To what extent are alternative low-emission steelmaking feedstocks to scrap and DRI/HBI being exploited?
• • How are steelmakers already changing raw materials sourcing habits?

🍴 Lunch Break 🍴

Session 3: Adapting to green steelmaking needs, overcoming energy shortages
Technology and innovation

DRI and EAF technology have existed for decades, as has CCUS. But they’ve only been used in certain locations and never with hydrogen. Today, with steelmakers eyeing electrification, demand for renewable energy is increasing faster than generation capacity can keep up, while the supply of high-grade iron ore needed for DRI-making is forecast to fall short of meeting demand from the global buildout of DRI plants. Technological innovation will be key to overcoming these challenges. The electric smelter (ESF) is being touted as the solution to using lower-grade iron ore feedstock, while small nuclear reactors (SMR) are being proposed as a means to ensure clean energy supply. Alternatives to traditional indurated pelletising, such as cold agglomeration or fines-based iron reduction, are also expected to feature prominently. While steelmaking has traditionally been a choice between EAF or BF, decarbonisation will drive the formation of multiple technological pathways to clean steelmaking. Which one a producer choses will depend on location. Europe is most eager to decarbonise its steelmaking and wants to retain its industry. But the region’s conditions for making low-emission steel are not favourable. How can technology and innovation help overcome the challenges? Does CCUS have a viable business case? Would nuclear power provide a return on investment? The session will bring together innovators – ironmaking technology suppliers, a CCUS expert and nuclear power company – to discuss the pathways to achieving cost-competitive green steel production.

Format: presentations + Q&A

Topics:

• • How is DRI technology adapting to hydrogen reductant use? Is 100% H2 viable?
• • Is the ESF the answer to high-grade iron ore supply deficit? When will the technology roll out?
• • What are the challenges of CCUS? Will it be used in Europe to prolong blast furnace life?
• • How viable are SMRs are a solution to renewables shortages?
• • Is fines-based DRI making likely to grow?
• • How can technology help further reduce energy consumption in steelmaking?
• • How do steelmakers chose the right technological pathway?
• • How can technology help raw materials miners decarbonise?

☕ Coffee Break ☕

Session 4: End-user decarbonisation – incentivised or forced?
Markets

We want to produce green steel, but do consumers want to buy it? This is a fundamental question facing the steel industry as it clamours to pour billions into decarbonising production. The process is costly and producers therefore need to charge premiums. But what if the market is not prepared to pay them? Who sets the premiums and using what methodology? The social and commercial environment in Europe has also become more complicated amid spiralling costs caused by inflation, leading to what has become known as a “greenlash”. Steelmakers have lobbied policymakers to establish green lead markets and public procurement. What progress has been made here and what are the challenges ahead? With green steel premiums coming into play, “greenwashing” is also increasingly becoming a threat. What is the definition of green steel? And how can we ensure the product we are paying for fits that definition? Establishing a universally-accepted standard is often cited as a critical step to creating a green steel market. But the challenges to doing this are considerable. How can they be overcome? How crucial will carbon markets and taxes be to driving forward global decarbonisation? While carmakers have already turned in large numbers to sourcing green steel, the additional steel cost is only a small portion of the overall cost of the car. In the construction sector, the largest steel consumer, the uptake has been much slower. How can this sector be incentivised to buy green? This session aims to bring together policymakers, steel standards authorities, steelmakers and end-user sectors to debate these challenges.

Format: 10-12 min presentations + Q&A

Topics:

• • How can policymakers create green lead markets and ensure public procurement?
• • What are the challenges and solutions to establishing a global green steel standard?
• • How else can greenwashing be prevented?
• • Will the market buy green steel? To what extent is a carrot required and what extent a stick?
• • What challenges are European steel buyers and producers facing with CBAM and how can these be resolved?
• • How effectively are carbon taxes in other regions prompting manufacturing sectors to go green?
• • How can the construction industry be encouraged to source green steel?
• • How important are future off-take agreements for securing greenfield low-emission steel project financing?
• • Will the “greenlash” and rise of the political right impact demand for green products?

🍸 End & Cocktail reception 🍸