Decarbonizing the Asian steel industries through green Hot Briquetted Iron trade

IF 11.2 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Resources Conservation and Recycling Pub Date : 2025-03-30 DOI:10.1016/j.resconrec.2025.108275

Zhenxi Li, Max Åhman, Jonas Algers, Lars J Nilsson

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The Asian steel industry produces 73 % of global steel and is expanding. The speed and plans for decarbonizing the Asian steel sector are thus globally important. Importing green Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI), iron ore reduced to iron with renewable hydrogen, from renewable-rich countries such as Australia, Brazil and South Africa, could be a good option to avoid constraints with access to renewables. However, the effects of green-HBI-trade on Asian steel decarbonization strategies have not yet been studied. We use an optimization model, spanning from 2023–2070, to evaluate whether green-HBI-trade can help Asia to achieve Nationally Determined Contributions and Paris Agreement. We found that HBI-trade could accelerate the phase-out of BF-BOF steel by 2 to 5 years and reduce BF-BOF steel production by 2 Gt, thus lowering the cumulative CO₂-emissions from the steel sector by 4 Gt. Consequently, current plans to expand BF-BOF capacity may lead to stranded assets when steel is decarbonizing.

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来源期刊

Resources Conservation and Recycling 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

22.90

自引率

6.10%

发文量

625

审稿时长

23 days

期刊介绍： The journal Resources, Conservation & Recycling welcomes contributions from research, which consider sustainable management and conservation of resources. The journal prioritizes understanding the transformation processes crucial for transitioning toward more sustainable production and consumption systems. It highlights technological, economic, institutional, and policy aspects related to specific resource management practices such as conservation, recycling, and resource substitution, as well as broader strategies like improving resource productivity and restructuring production and consumption patterns. Contributions may address regional, national, or international scales and can range from individual resources or technologies to entire sectors or systems. Authors are encouraged to explore scientific and methodological issues alongside practical, environmental, and economic implications. However, manuscripts focusing solely on laboratory experiments without discussing their broader implications will not be considered for publication in the journal.