Materials Processing Institute

By Chris McDonald, Strategy Consultant and former CEO of the Materials Processing Institute

Industrial scale steelmaking is to return to Teesside following British Steel’s announcement that it is to build an electric arc furnace (EAF), melting scrap metal to produce ‘green’ steel.

Sited at Lackenby, it will supply steel to British Steel’s adjacent Teesside Rolling Mill and its special profile mill at Skinningrove, for use in construction, infrastructure and specialist equipment.

Due to open in 2025, it is expected to create around 250 jobs and protect hundreds of other steel and supply chain jobs in the region – as well as providing opportunities for a new generation of steelworkers.

However, as part of its multi-million pound investment, the Chinese-owned company is replacing its traditional coke-fired steel plant in Scunthorpe, with a second EAF, which will see the loss of 2,000 jobs.

While it may be welcome news on Teesside, many will readily recall the devastation when our own Redcar steelworks closed in 2015. I fervently hope concerted efforts will be made to transfer those skills now under threat in Scunthorpe into emerging green technologies.

EAFs are far less labour-intensive than traditional blast furnaces and account for 30 per cent of the world’s steelmaking capacity, offering huge environmental benefits.

Blast furnaces, like that currently in use in Scunthorpe, account for 10% of the UK’s harmful carbon dioxide emissions and it is estimated the average carbon footprint of steel is 1.85 tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of steel produced.

While EAFs play an important and growing role in the global decarbonisation of the steel industry, they cannot provide the full range and amount of steel needed by modern industrial economies, such as that required by the automotive and defence sectors.

Therefore, it is vital that both Government and the steel industry continues to invest in primary steel production, steel made with iron ore, by investing in net-zero hydrogen powered furnaces.

Teesside’s planned EAF signals the rebirth of industrial steelmaking in the region, although the Materials Processing Institute has kept that flame alive with its own pilot plant, used in the research and development of new steels and for small scale commercial production.

The British Steel version is likely to be 20 times the size of our own EAF but I’m confident the Institute can play a supportive role in its development.

It marks a major step forward in securing the future of a sustainable UK steel industry, but more investment is urgently needed if this country is to achieve true sovereign capability.

ENDS