TOWARDS A CARBON-FREE STEEL PRODUCTION ROUTE

The anthropogenic greenhouse effect raises the possibility of large climate modifications. The Steel Industry, which in France emits 26 Mt of CO2, has several countermeasures at its disposal: energy savings, which have already been put into application to a large extent ; recycling of steel, i.e. scrap melting ; use of electrical energy, which in France happens to be essentially carbon-free; and, possibly in the long term, use of hydrogen as a reducing agent, in the form of natural gas for example. The stirring of Usinor Sacilor production routes towards electric arc steelmaking constitutes an adequate answer to the question of reducing CO2 emissions.