The way towards carbon neutral steel

The way we make steel needs to change

Our ambition is carbon neutral steel

The process of manufacturing steel, anywhere in the world, is a large source of CO₂ emissions. This is largely due to the use of coal. We aim for a cleaner, green and more circular way to produce steel. Which is why we are working day and night to reduce emissions. By 2030, we want to make steel with 40 percent less CO₂. And by 2045, we will be a climate-neutral steel producer. How will we achieve that?

Scope 1, scope 2, scope 3

Emissions throughout the chain

Reducing carbon emissions doesn't only happen at the steel production site, such as in IJmuiden. Emissions occur throughout the entire chain. This means from raw material to final product, from our site to, for example, the transport of our steel coils to our customers. To gain insight info, and therefore more control of these emissions, companies divide carbon emissions into three categories. We call these scopes. Scope 1 concerns a company's direct emissions. In our case, it's the emission that occurs during the production of steel, for example by heating coal. Scope 2 involves emissions that occur during the generation of power we purchase. Finally, scope 3 are the emissions that occur at all other places in the chain. These include the transport of raw materials to our site, the transport of steel coils to customers and the processing of steel at the end of its useful life.

Scope 1

Biggest gain by abandoning coal

The production of steel involves considerable CO₂ emissions due to the use of coal. Carbon reacts under high temperature with the oxygen from iron ore, which causes CO₂. As a result, our production is responsible for over 11 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year. Most of the emissions originate at the beginning of the production process. Therefore we will replace existing plants in that part of the process, including our blast furnaces, with new technologies. To do so, we first switch from coal to natural gas. Later, when sufficiently available, we will use hydrogen. With these changes, we will reduce our CO₂ emissions by 40% in 2030, a serious contribution to achieving the Dutch climate goals.

No more need for coal? Here's how we get there.

Scope 2

Only 1% of our emissions

Scope 2 concerns all indirect emissions generated during the production of purchased electricity. At our plant in IJmuiden, this works slightly differently. At Vattenfall's nearby power plant, residual gases from our steel production, such as gas containing CO₂ released at the Blast Furnaces, have been used since 1920 to generate most (if not all) of the electricity we need again at that location. Thus, our residual gases are indirectly used again for our own energy needs. In reports, we therefore put Vattenfall's CO₂ emissions under our scope 1. Our scope 2 emissions are ultimately 1% of our total emissions. This is mainly due to scope 2 emissions at our other Tata Steel Nederland downstream sites. Three of our locations are already carbon neutral on scope 1 and 2.

Scope 3

Little direct influence, but important nonetheless

Scope 3 includes indirect emissions from activities by, for example, suppliers, customers and investors. Although we have little direct influence on reducing scope 3 emissions, these emissions are 30% of the total CO₂emissions of Tata Steel Nederland. It is therefore important to gain insight into this type of emission by using data. Step by step, together with our chain partners, we manage to replace earlier theoretical calculations based on literature research with accurate data from practice. For example, we know that emissions related to the extraction of raw materials make the largest contribution to our scope 3 emissions. With the data we collect, we are developing a reduction target, strategy and approach. In doing so, we are working with key partners in our chain. In the meantime, various projects are reducing these indirect emissions.

CO2 emissions: measurements

For the enthusiast ... calculating emissions.

To calculate emissions in scope 1, 2 and 3, we use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), our own data and data from suppliers. The GHG Protocol is the only method accepted worldwide and establishes comprehensive standardized frameworks for measuring and managing CO₂ emissions.

Here's an example fhat illustrates how we calculate scope 3 emissions: we purchase iron ore for our site in IJmuiden. The GHG has a standard emission factor per 1 kilogram of iron ore. By multiplying the emission factor per kilogram of iron ore by the number of kilograms of iron ore we purchase, we calculate what our scope 3 emissions are for our purchased ore.

GHG's default emission factors are averages based on extensive data sets, and they are largely identical to those used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Founded by the United Nations, IPCC aims to map and summarize the available knowledge on climate, climate change and its impacts in reports. This way, policymakers, among others, always have the most relevant and up-to-date information from scientific research.

Also interesting