The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has released the findings of its study regarding the performance of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology (CCUS) in steelmaking.
The IEEFA stated that there is a significant concern that using CCUS technology in fossil-fuel based steelmaking fails to meet green steel requirements, as it has not given the promised results in several sectors even though it has been in use for over 50 years. Since each CCUS project is unique, this limits the technological advancement and cost reduction options. The institute highlighted that CCUS has a high risk of carbon dioxide leakage during transportation and storage, thus requiring constant surveillance and that achieving carbon neutrality through this technology poses challenges due to the low concentrations of carbon dioxide especially in blast furnace processes. In addition, the IEEFA said that there has hardly been progress in using CCUS on a commercial scale and that the cost of carbon capture in the steel sector is higher than in other sectors with high carbon dioxide concentrations.
Also, the forecast of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown that the forecast share of CCUS technologies in steelmaking by 2050 dropped to 37.0 percent in 2023, compared to 53.0 percent in 2021, while the forecast share of hydrogen-based technologies in steelmaking by 2050 rose to 44.0 percent in 2023 from 29.0 percent 2021. Based on this information, the IEEFA expects that the share of CCUS will drop even further in the IEA’s future forecasts since its current capacity captures only 0.1 percent of global emissions.
As SteelOrbis reported previously, the IEEFA stated that DRI-EAF technologies have already surpassed CCUS in the decarbonization efforts of the steel sector.