Cliffs did not respond to Canary Media’s repeated requests for comment for this story, and it has not yet publicly announced its plans for Blast Furnace #6.
To put itself on track with Cleveland’s emissions goals, however, the company would need to do more than just convert Blast Furnace #6 to the direct reduction process, Industrious Labs said.
The next step in the road map the group laid out would be for Cliffs to process refined iron ore into steel with an electric arc furnace — which can run on carbon-free power — instead of using the current basic oxygen equipment. Investing in green-hydrogen-based direct reduction and an electric arc furnace, instead of relining Blast Furnace #6, would increase emissions cuts to 47%, according to the Industrious Labs report.
Later steps would use direct reduction of iron and an electric arc furnace to refine and process the ore that is currently handled by Blast Furnace #5. Completing that work would cut Cleveland Works’ greenhouse gas emissions by 96%, according to the report.
What happens now?
The Industrious Labs analysis appears to lay out a credible decarbonization pathway, although not necessarily the only one, said Jenita McGowan, Cuyahoga County’s deputy chief of sustainability and climate. Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, also has a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and is in the process of finalizing the latest version of its climate action plan.
“My question about the paper is how feasible it truly is that Cleveland-Cliffs will deploy it in the near future,” McGowan said. Policy uncertainties at the federal level further complicate matters, she added.
For now, the city and county seem to be taking a pragmatic approach, focusing on achievements to date and encouraging future cuts wherever companies will make them.
But getting to net-zero for the industrial sector “will require more fundamental changes … [which] will take place over decades, rather than over a few years,” Cleveland’s climate action plan says. It also notes that low-carbon steel costs 40% more to produce compared to standard methods, “making it difficult for steelmakers to justify the investment in clean production.”
Cuyahoga County’s draft climate plan highlights Cliffs’ energy-efficiency improvements, including Cleveland Works’ use of some iron from the firm’s direct reduction plant in Toledo, Ohio. Cleveland Works also leverages much of the waste heat from its industrial activities to make electricity. The facility recently boosted that combined-heat-and-power generation by about 50 megawatts, the plan notes. That replaces electricity the plant would otherwise need from the grid, a majority of which still comes from fossil fuels.
Faster emissions reductions are certainly better, McGowan said. But the county also wants to make sure companies can stay in business as they decarbonize — especially Cliffs, one of the largest sources of commerce at the city’s port.
In Lewis’ view, decarbonizing Cleveland Works earlier rather than later would be a smart business move for Cliffs. “I think the biggest thing is staying competitive,” Lewis said.
One of Cliffs’ largest markets is supplying high-quality steel for automobiles, including electric vehicles, she added. In March, Hyundai announced plans to invest $6 billion in a new plant in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, that will produce low-carbon steel. As automakers face global pressure to source cleaner metal, Cliffs could find itself left behind, Lewis suggested.
The Industrious Labs report “opens the door for Cleveland to be a leader in clean steel,” Lewis said. Before that can happen, though, “there’s a lot of work to do.”
Great Job Kathiann M. Kowalski & the Team @ Canary Media Source link for sharing this story.
