Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 25-Nov-21

BHP estimated in 2020 that 72 per cent of the world’s steel mills are blast furnaces, which use iron ore and coking coal. However, they also generate carbon dioxide in the steel-making process, even if the plant is powered by renewable energy. Electric arc furnaces are an alternative to traditional blast furnaces, and use either scrap metal or direct reduced iron as feedstock. Rio Tinto is working on a project to make direct reduced iron using ‘green’ hydrogen rather than methane, which is a greenhouse gas. Rio Tinto has cautioned that converting the world’s steel industry to this process would require massive amount of renewable energy.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO