Global steel carbon standards needed: SDI
The world needs to enact global carbon standards for green steel to level the playing field, Steel Dynamics' (SDI) chief financial officer said today at a conference.
Carbon reduction pushes from regulators, investors, and customers are combining to push carbon reduction in steelmaking, chief financial officer Theresa Wagler told participants of the Global Steel Dynamics Forum in New York today. A lack of a global standard is lessening the ability of lower carbon steel producers to take advantage and see financial gain from a premium price from these initiatives.
"You have to define premium steel," Wagler said. "We need a global standard. If we're lowering the carbon inputs across the global economy, we have to measure things apples to apples."
Wagler said that North American steel producers should be categorized separately from the rest of the world because the region is producing the majority of its steel using scrap-based electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, which has a lower carbon intensity than traditional basic oxygen furnace/blast furnace-based (BOF/BF) steelmaking. The majority of global steelmaking is BOF/BF-based.
The industry needs to also create better measurement tools to allow for comparisons between different steelmakers for buyers like original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and steel service centers.
Twenty percent of SDI's investor base is European and Asian, Wagler said — two regions that are particularly interested in making carbon reductions
Additionally, most of the decarbonization focus currently is on the flat-rolled side of the steel industry, with long products not facing as much scrutiny, Wagler said.
Related news posts
Bipartisan bill would extend blenders tax credit
Bipartisan bill would extend blenders tax credit
New York, 23 July (Argus) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed legislation to extend an expiring tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel that are blended into the US fuel supply. The bill, which was introduced by representative Mike Carey (R-Ohio) and is pending before the House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, would specifically extend a credit offering $1/USG for blenders of biomass-based diesel through 2025. The credit is otherwise set to expire at the end of this year and be replaced in January by the Inflation Reduction Act's 45Z credit, which will be more generous to fuels with lower carbon intensities. The text of the bill has not yet been released. But a draft version shared with Argus by an external group would restrict fuel that is "allowed" a credit under 45Z from also qualifying for the reinstated credit for blenders, a provision that seems to primarily benefit fuel imports. The expiring biodiesel credit allows fuel produced outside the US to qualify, since the credit is claimed by blenders instead of producers, while the new 45Z credit is specifically for refiners producing fuel in the US. The US administration's timeline for finalizing guidance around 45Z is unclear, to the frustration of biofuels groups that have warned that prolonged uncertainty could jeopardize planned investments aimed at boosting production and feedstock supply. An extension of the existing biodiesel credit could potentially provide more certainty to the biofuels supply chain. Fuel retailers that had previously warned that shifting the credit from blenders to producers will raise fuel prices for consumers, including the National Association of Truck Stop Owners and the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, commended Carey's proposal. But the tax credit extension would also upend other incentives driving biofuel production. The 45Z credit offers up to $1/USG for road fuels, but incentives are more generous the fewer greenhouse gas emissions a fuel produces, whereas the expiring credit does not adjust benefits based on carbon intensity. In addition, prolonging incentives to import fuels could hurt domestic producers and lead to wider biodiesel and renewable diesel availability, potentially weighing on prices of renewable identification number (RIN) credits that refiners submit to regulators to comply with the renewable fuel standard. Market participants have generally expected that prices for RINs, which also act as a source of revenue and incentive to produce low-carbon fuels, will rise next year to account for 45Z providing less of a subsidy than the expiring credit. Clean Fuels Alliance America, which represents biomass-based diesel and sustainable aviation fuel companies, declined to comment or take a position on the legislation. But the group said that it would continue advocating for President Joe Biden's administration to swiftly propose and finalize 45Z guidance. The bill currently has four sponsors, three Republicans and one Democrat, but it is tough to gauge how broad support for any credit extension would be within Congress. It is not uncommon for Congress to pass legislation near the end of the year extending or reinstating tax credits that would have otherwise expired, and various energy tax credits were extended in Congress' lame duck session after the 2020 presidential election. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
EU pledges €20mn to Brazil's Amazon fund
EU pledges €20mn to Brazil's Amazon fund
Sao Paulo, 23 July (Argus) — The EU has signed a letter of intent with Brazil's Bndes development bank to donate €20mn ($21.7mn) to the Amazon fund as part of broader efforts by Europe to support sustainable development in Brazil. The fund is the world's largest to use the REDD+ framework, which aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable forest management. It has R3.9bn under management and has supported 114 projects to date. The European Investment Bank also agreed to finance €300mn in Brazilian energy transition, green economy and digital transition projects under "very favorable" conditions, it said. The Amazon fund resumed operations last year, after suspending operations for four years during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro. It attracted R726mn ($130mn) in 2023 . Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US House passes waterways bill
US House passes waterways bill
Houston, 23 July (Argus) — The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill on Monday authorizing the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to tackle a dozen port, inland waterway and other water infrastructure projects. The Republican-led House voted 359-13 to pass the Waterways Resources Development Act (WRDA), which authorizes the Corps to proceed with plans to upgrade the Seagirt Loop Channel near Baltimore Harbor in Maryland. The bill also will enable the Corps to move forward with 160 feasibility studies, including a $314mn resiliency study of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which connects ports along the Gulf of Mexico from St Marks, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. Water project authorization bills typically are passed every two years and generally garner strong bipartisan support because they affect numerous congressional districts. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously passed its own version of the bill on 22 May. That bill does not include an adjustment to the cost-sharing structure for lock and dam construction and other rehabilitation projects. The Senate's version is expected to reach the floor before 2 August, before lawmakers break for their August recess. The Senate is not scheduled to reconvene until 9 September. If the Senate does not pass an identical version of the bill, lawmakers will have to meet in a conference committee to work out the differences. WRDA is "our legislative commitment to investing in and protecting our communities from flooding and droughts, restoring our environment and ecosystems and keeping our nation's competitiveness by supporting out ports and harbors", representative Grace Napolitano (D-California) said. By Meghan Yoyotte Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
LME fob China HRC volumes hit multi-year high
LME fob China HRC volumes hit multi-year high
London, 23 July (Argus) — Ongoing weakness in Chinese hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices has sparked a flurry of trading on the London Metal Exchange's (LME) fob China HRC contract this month. More than 100,000t will trade this month for the first time since summer 2020, according to exchange data. Physical Chinese prices have been plumbing new lows recently amid tepid domestic and export demand. Argus ' fob China HRC index, cash-settlement basis for the LME contract, dropped by $3/t today to $497/t, its lowest since August 2020. Asian export offers also appear to have dropped, with a Vietnamese quote tabled around $20/t lower today into the UK. A 5,000t trade went through on the LME today at $498/t for August, following softening physical and raw material costs — the blast furnace raw material basket has dropped by around $25/t over the course of July, and in a buyers' market sellers are expected to pass this reduction off. There is increased talk that China will look to clamp down on steel exports where value-added tax (VAT) has not been paid, but market participants note the last attempt fell flat, and volumes have not reduced much. During January-June this year the world's largest producer exported 15.6mn t of HRC, compared with 10.4mn t over the first six months of last year, and a record 23.9mn t over the year as a whole. "In line with the growth in Chinese steel exports, in recent months we have seen renewed activity in the LME steel fob China HRC ( Argus ) futures contract from across the global value chain," LME product specialist steel and nickel Alberto Xodo told Argus . Interest has stemmed from major Chinese exporters, steel merchants in Europe and Singapore, as well as industrial groups in southeast Asia and the Middle East, he added. By Colin Richardson Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more