LIBERTY Steel Group’s CN30 ambition is to develop profitable, resilient businesses that are carbon neutral by 2030
The steel industry is facing a trilemma
Clearly, this is a conflict and fundamental change is needed.
With this in mind, LIBERTY has announced its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030 – or as we call it, CN30.
Our ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030 is bold and demands a major transition from a heavy polluting industry to a modern carbon-neutral future. Climate change won’t wait so we are committed to taking action now.
Our plan to transition to GREENSTEEL
LIBERTY Steel produces steel across the globe through integrated steel facilities as well as recycled scrap based Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs).
Around 40% of our steel is produced through the EAF route which we use in Australia, Poland, the UK and the US. Using electricity, our EAFs manufacture steel products with a significantly lower carbon emission level – more than 60% less CO2 per tonne of steel – compared to those made by traditional steelmaking methods.
Recycling scrap metal as the main feedstock into our EAFs allows us to use a local resource with a very low level of embedded carbon which further reduces emissions, saves on natural resources and diverts scrap from landfill.
The rest of our major steelmaking plants – in Australia (Whyalla), the Czech Republic (Ostrava), Romania (Galati) and now Dunaferr – use the traditional blast furnace (BF/BOF) route. This uses carbon (primarily from coal) as the primary source of transition fuel.
To achieve our ambition to become a carbon-neutral steelmaker by 2030, we have to transition our business away from using BFs while we further reduce the carbon emissions of our EAFs through the use of renewable electrical energy.
What does this mean for LIBERTY Dunaújváros ?
LIBERTY has ambitious plans for the decarbonisation of the Dunaújváros steelworks by 2030.
On 20th September 2023 it announced its partnership with China’s CISDI Engineering Co. (“CISDI”), in collaboration with the Hungarian Ministry of Economic Development, to prepare for the decarbonisation of the Dunaújváros steel works.
LIBERTY and CISDI will develop and implement a decarbonisation pathway which will see the Dunaújváros plant shift from coal based steel making to EAF technology, and in doing so reduce direct CO2 emissions by approximately 80%.
The plans will see the installation of a new 1.2Mtpa capacity EAF to be supplied by CISDI. The state-of-the-art furnace carries the latest in energy efficient technology and allows for flexibility in charge materials, which would significantly enhance the competitiveness of the Dunaújváros operation.
