Zappa’s clumsy rudeness gets a response:Green SteelConventional...

Zappa’s clumsy rudeness gets a response:

Green Steel

Conventional steel-making produces a very large amount of CO2 emissions (dirty steel). Adding niobium to steel can have engineering benefits, one being increase in yield strength allowing thinner steel sections and hence less steel needed giving an indirect environmental benefit.

Green steel will reduce or eliminate CO2 emissions from steel-making, and so if and when it replaces dirty steel, the nasty carbon footprint from dirty steel will be reduced or eliminated.

Hence the more green steel replaces dirty steel, the less need for niobium to indirectly reduce dirty steel’s carbon footprint. That is, the link is a negative link with reference to niobium demand.

If adding Nb to dirty steel to reduce footprint has in fact been a significant driver of Nb demand, then the advent of green steel means that driver is lost, reducing Nb demand. However it is likely that direct cost and engineering benefits have been by far the main drivers, and reducing footprint a nice-to-have side effect mainly useful for PR and virtue signalling. In other words the reduced footprint link is probably insignificant.

It is conceivable that a green steel process itself could lead to increased niobium demand. The current front running technologies for green steel look like 1. replacing coal fired blast furnaces with electric furnaces sourced by renewable energy, 2. using hydrogen as the reducing agent (Fe2O3 ore to Fe) instead of carbon (coal). It seems neither of these technologies will themselves increase the demand for niobium.

Electrochemical green steel-making using electrolysis is another technology being pursued. It is not as advanced as the front runners but is getting significant attention. Boston Metal is a leader and is run by an ex-boss of CBMM and Gustavo Macedo has recently joined. Boston Metal’s process needs anodes and they say their anodes are made of “chromium, iron and a secret mix of other metals” (Economist, 31.5.23). I suspect the secret mix may include niobium but I have no idea how much niobium demand this could imply if my suspicion is correct. Otherwise I can’t see an impact on niobium demand from any green steel process.

Green steel is interesting but it's hardly relevant to WA! and Luni.