UK’s largest steelworks, Tata’s Port Talbot plant is planning a major overhaul to switch to an electric arc furnace. The move comes as part of the company’s efforts to meet climate change targets and reduce operational cost pressures. The plant is currently the UK’s biggest single emitter of carbon dioxide and plans to shut its blast furnaces could cut Wales’ carbon emissions by as much as a fifth.
Despite the cutback, thousands of jobs will be lost in the local community. Critics claim that the move shows that the UK and Welsh governments are failing to deliver a “just transition” to a greener future. Making steel from scratch in a blast furnace creates a lot of emissions, and the site’s constant need for power to run its operations 24 hours a day also increases its carbon footprint.
The switch to the electric arc furnace would take the steelworks in a totally different direction. Rather than making new steel, it would mainly be melting down scrap metal. As the name suggests, the new furnace would run off electricity, opening the door for more green sources like wind and solar.
Tata says the switch could slash the site’s emissions by about 90% annually, which equates to almost 2 million homes’ emissions. It is estimated that for every tonne of steel produced via the blast furnace method, they currently emit around two tonnes of carbon dioxide. This would reduce to between 150kg and 200kg from an electric furnace. Although some coal will still be required, the company aims to reach net zero by 2045 by exploring options like carbon capture technology and green hydrogen fuel in the future.
The overall impact for Wales’ emissions is significant, reducing it between 15 to 20%. Meanwhile, UK’s emissions could fall by approximately 1.5%. Yet, the impact is not without consequences, and the UK may become dependent on buying steel from countries which have not moved as quickly towards greener production methods. It will be another four or five years before the new electric arc furnace is built, and there are also carbon dioxide emissions associated with transporting the steel by ship to the UK
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