In November members of the ICME West Midlands Branch, and guests, gathered in person in Wednesbury, with some also joining on-line, to hear the latest technical lecture, the third in the year’s technical programme.
Branch President, Wendy Bennett FICME, welcomed Andy Eastwood of Carrs Tool Steels Ltd and he presented the talk entitled ‘Carbon Neutral Steel.’
Andy’s presentation was on the development of a new steelmaking process that reduces the amount of carbon dioxide typically associated with the conventional blast furnace (BOS) manufacturing route. He explained that the demand for steel has tripled since the 1970s. In 2023, 1.9 million tons were produced, and steel (like all metal castings) is a very energy-dense material to manufacture.
Steel manufacturing accounted for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions annually, and SSAB aims to produce carbon-neutral steel by 2050, in line with the European CBAN initiative (a carbon dioxide equivalence declaration and reduction scheme).
A new steel manufacturing process has been developed using hydrogen (instead of methane/coke) as the energy source to melt and refine the iron ore.
The talk concluded with some really interesting questions, a lively debate, and a round of applause to thank Andy.
The buffet, that all members attending enjoyed, was kindly sponsored by Carrs Tool Steels.
