TY - JOUR
T1 - Green steel
T2 - synergies between the Australian iron ore industry and the production of green hydrogen
AU - Wang, Changlong
AU - Walsh, Stuart D.C.
AU - Weng, Zhehan
AU - Haynes, Marcus W.
AU - Feitz, Andrew
AU - Summerfield, Daisy
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' cultures and to elders past, present and emerging. This work is a product of a collaborative project between Geoscience Australia and Monash University as part of the Exploring for the Future program. Zhehan Weng, Daisy Summerfield, Andrew Feitz and Marcus Haynes publish with the permission of the CEO of Geoscience Australia. Geoscience Australia eCat number 146059.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/10/1
Y1 - 2023/10/1
N2 - Green steel, produced using renewable energy and hydrogen, presents a promising avenue to decarbonize steel manufacturing and expand the hydrogen industry. Australia, endowed with abundant renewable resources and iron ore deposits, is ideally placed to support this global effort. This paper's two-step analytical approach offers the first comprehensive assessment of Australia's potential to develop green steel as a value-added export commodity. The Economic Fairways modelling reveals a strong alignment between prospective hydrogen hubs and current and future iron ore operations, enabling shared infrastructure development and first-mover advantages. By employing a site-based system optimization that integrates both wind and solar power sources, the cost of producing green steel could decrease significantly to around AU$900 per tonne by 2030 and AU$750 per tonne by 2050. Moreover, replacing 1% of global steel production would require 35 GW of well-optimized wind and solar photovoltaics, 11 GW of hydrogen electrolysers, and 1000 square kilometres of land. Sensitivity analysis further indicates that iron ore prices would exert a long-term influence on green steel prices. Overall, this study highlights the opportunities and challenges facing the Australian iron ore industry in contributing to the decarbonization of the global steel sector, underscoring the crucial role of government support in driving the growth and development of the green steel industry.
AB - Green steel, produced using renewable energy and hydrogen, presents a promising avenue to decarbonize steel manufacturing and expand the hydrogen industry. Australia, endowed with abundant renewable resources and iron ore deposits, is ideally placed to support this global effort. This paper's two-step analytical approach offers the first comprehensive assessment of Australia's potential to develop green steel as a value-added export commodity. The Economic Fairways modelling reveals a strong alignment between prospective hydrogen hubs and current and future iron ore operations, enabling shared infrastructure development and first-mover advantages. By employing a site-based system optimization that integrates both wind and solar power sources, the cost of producing green steel could decrease significantly to around AU$900 per tonne by 2030 and AU$750 per tonne by 2050. Moreover, replacing 1% of global steel production would require 35 GW of well-optimized wind and solar photovoltaics, 11 GW of hydrogen electrolysers, and 1000 square kilometres of land. Sensitivity analysis further indicates that iron ore prices would exert a long-term influence on green steel prices. Overall, this study highlights the opportunities and challenges facing the Australian iron ore industry in contributing to the decarbonization of the global steel sector, underscoring the crucial role of government support in driving the growth and development of the green steel industry.
KW - Energy system modelling
KW - Green hydrogen
KW - Green steel
KW - Industry decarbonization
KW - Renewable energy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159636088&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.05.041
DO - 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.05.041
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85159636088
SN - 0360-3199
VL - 48
SP - 32277
EP - 32293
JO - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
JF - International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
IS - 83
ER -
