Workshop: Economic, Environmental, and Supply Chain Aspects of Steel Decarbonisation

Decarbonising the steel industry is a key milestone in meeting the European Green Deal ambitions. One of the most promising solutions lies in replacing fossil-based coal with renewable, bio-derived alternatives—especially biocoal obtained from waste streams. Unlike woody biomass, which faces high costs and limited availability, the transformation of bio-waste into high-quality biocoal not only supports climate neutrality but also reinforces the EU’s circular economy agenda.

A central focus of this workshop will be the H2STEEL process, developed jointly by Politecnico di Torino and the RE-CORD consortium, as part of an EU-funded Pathfinder initiative under the European Innovation Council. This innovative technology uses waste-derived carbon as a catalyst to crack biomethane into hydrogen and solid biocoal, enabling methane pyrolysis without greenhouse gas emissions. The biocoal not only acts as an energy carrier but can be sequestered within steelmaking, delivering an outcome beyond carbon neutrality. The process has reached the proof-of-concept stage and shows strong potential for industrial scaling and integration into steel facilities.

This workshop will explore how economic frameworks, policy interventions, supply chain optimisation, and environmental assessments can accelerate the shift towards low-carbon steelmaking. Participants will gain insights into the economic levers that can make green steel competitive, the role of life cycle assessment (LCA) in comparing conventional and alternative technologies, and strategies for optimising supply chains to enable large-scale deployment of the H₂STEEL process. The session brings together experts from industry and research to discuss opportunities, challenges, and pathways for implementation.