# Pathways to decarbonizing steel

- Show: [Catalyst](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst)
- Published: 2024-08-02
- Length: 45m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel

## Summary

Rebecca Dell, senior director of the industry program at the Climateworks Foundation, discusses the pathways to decarbonizing the steel industry, which accounts for 8% of global emissions. She explains why conventional blast furnaces are hard to replace and evaluates hydrogen DRI, direct electrification via companies like Boston Metal, and the limited role of carbon capture. The conversation highlights major players like SSAB, ThyssenKrupp, and Salzgitter, and notes the economic and technical challenges of scaling green steel.

## Chapters

- [2:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=143) Introduction: The Scale of Steel Emissions
- [6:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=363) Recycling Limits and Demand Drivers
- [9:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=579) The Blast Furnace Problem and Coal
- [14:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=856) Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) and Methane
- [19:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=1191) Hydrogen DRI: Technical Challenges and Ore Quality
- [26:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=1605) Direct Electrification and Boston Metal
- [32:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=1977) The Limits of Carbon Capture in Steel
- [37:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=2231) Major Players and Global Projects
- [42:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel#t=2561) Material Substitution and Future Outlook

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Boston Metal (company)
- SSAB (company)
- ThyssenKrupp (company)
- Salzgitter (company)
- ArcelorMittal (company)
- LKAB (company)
- Nucor (company)
- Cleveland-Cliffs (company)
- Energy Hub (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Tackling 8% of Global Emissions: Making Iron Sustainable One Atom at a Time with Sandeep Nijhawan](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-07-17-tackling-8-of-global-emissions-making-iron-sustainable-one-atom-at-a-time-with-s) (Hardware to Save a Planet)
- [242: Industrial History and the Low-Carbon Economy of the Future with Ted Fertik, VP of Manufacturing & Industrial Policy at BlueGreen Alliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2025-06-24-242-industrial-history-and-the-low-carbon-economy-of-the-future-with-ted-fertik) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [Reinventing Cement: The Breakthrough That Could Cut 8% of Global Emissions with Greg Williams](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2025-03-27-reinventing-cement-the-breakthrough-that-could-cut-8-of-global-emissions-with-gr) (Hardware to Save a Planet)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2024-08-02-pathways-to-decarbonizing-steel. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Catalyst.