Why We Need Low Carbon Steel for the Green Energy Transition
by Jakob Askou Bøss, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy & Stakeholder Relations, Ørsted
Originally published on the Climate Group website
Our vision at Ørsted is to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. Our transformation from fossil fuels to one of the largest renewable energy companies and in 2020 ranked the most sustainable company in the world, has been hugely successful. Our renewable energy installations will power communities and economies across three continents. But there remains a significant hurdle ahead of us: decarbonising our supply chain and especially our use of steel.
Steel accounts for about half of the emissions in our offshore wind supply chain. The steel we use in our wind turbine installations is highly specialised and there are no viable, commercial low-carbon alternatives available today.
To support the development of low-carbon steel production, we have targeted a carbon neutral supply chain by 2040, well knowing that it is ten years ahead of what is required by science. However, if the world doesn’t transition to the production of low carbon steel, it will be impossible to reach global net zero emissions by 2050.
