Steel makers weigh in on new 2050 Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Roadmap

With the National Development Council (NDC) releasing its 2050 Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Roadmap on Thursday, steel metal providers outlined the potential challenges in the industry under the carbon-neutral era.

Steel metal providers pointed out that while it is relatively easier to slash carbon emissions, going neutral is "revolutionary," stressing that it is an inevitable trend. With the industry development increasing investment into sustainable options, suppliers said costs would most definitely increase, warning preemptive preparation across different sectors.

The newly released blueprint highlights increased usage of scrap steel as alternative raw materials. In addition, the NDC is likely to propose using hydrogen to improve production sustainability. However, steel metal suppliers pointed out that many of the proposed initiatives in the blueprint are already underway in the industry, such as increasing the usage of scrap steel and replacing the usage of iron ore with reduced ore in blast furnaces.

According to the Central News Agency, Hsin Kuang Steel Chairman Li Ming-de said that the blueprint proposed by the NDC is an optimistic direction for the industry as a whole. Li said in recent years, more and more clients have requested steel materials that are produced through sustainable means and with less carbon footprint.

The positive behind this switch is how these types of products are purer, making them more durable. Li said the rates of products made of sustainable metal are less likely to be replaced, reducing waste, improving product competitiveness on the market, and fostering sustainability in the production chain.

The challenges of implementing hydrogen into the production process are compounded mainly by existing technologies, which will most definitely hike up production costs, Li said. But, he added that the move towards sustainable means overall would raise prices across the board.

Overall, the 2050 Net-Zero Carbon Emissions Roadmap proposes an increase in renewable energy ratio to over 60%, and ceasing of manufacturing of new coal-fired power plants past 2025. Other additional measures include wind power photovoltaic accumulation capacity shall reach 40GW by 2030, and deployment rate of smart electric meters shall reach 100% in 2035, and the coal-fired gas power plants will be introduced and used in accordance with the development process of CCUS in 2040, so that the proportion of renewable energy power generation will exceed 60% by 2050,

Further measures will be released by the NDC later this year, specifically, regarding the nation's carbon reduction target for 2030.