<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/australian-must-decarbonise-to-stay-relevant-in-the-global-steel-supply-chain-bnef/>
"As the world’s leading exporter of iron ore, Australian miners face a raft of
risks and opportunities as steelmakers decarbonise their operations, but there
remains a lack of certainty over exactly which technological pathway will lead
to low carbon steel.
These are the headline findings from a new report from energy analysts
BloombergNEF (BNEF) which analyses how trade dynamics are expected to shift as
the global steel supply chain transitions to low carbon, and how Australia and
its trading partners can cement their foothold in the global decarbonised steel
supply chain.
While Australia’s steel manufacturing sector doesn’t even rank in the world’s
top 10, it is nevertheless the world’s largest exporter of iron ores.
“In 2023, Australia supplied 64% of total seaborne iron ore,” writes Caroline
Chua, BloombergNEF energy transition supply chain specialist and lead author of
the report.
“Brazil is a distant second, accounting for 25% of traded iron ore in the same
year. As the global steel supply chain transitions, Australia will have to
transition to stay relevant in the sector, avoid stranded assets, and capture
emerging opportunities for its export industries.”
But exactly how to achieve this and what technological pathway will be most
cost effective and efficient is unclear. This creates opportunities, and risks,
for Australian iron ore mining companies, who must act quickly.
For example, while unlikely to become a major steel manufacturer despite its
rich iron ore deposits, Australia could nevertheless begin to export low-carbon
intermediary iron products, ensuring its relevancy in the supply chain even as
the sector decarbonises.
This could include transitioning to exporting low-carbon intermediary
feedstocks such as green hot briquetted iron to export as a feedstock to
overseas steelmakers."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
