In response to reports that British Steel will be closing their blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, please see below for a statement from the Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA). We feel that this is a missed opportunity to deploy Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) which could have protected these important jobs and retained UK steel making capabilities.
Olivia Powis, CEO of the CCSA, said:
“For industrial towns like Scunthorpe, proximity to CCUS clusters such as Viking CCS and the Northern Endurance Partnership (NEP) Track-1 Expansion in the Humber can provide a lifeline to businesses seeking to decarbonise and keep operations going. News that British Steel, who need to transition to a greener form of steel production, could close their blast furnaces at Scunthorpe poses a real blow to UK steel and wider manufacturing capabilities.”
“Transitioning industries, including UK steel, to low-carbon operations is vital for their long-term viability and competitiveness in the global low-carbon products market. Industry has been ready and waiting to deploy CCUS for a number of years and if faster progress had been made by all governments, these jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands could have been protected and the sustainability of critical manufacturing outputs secured.”
“While electric arc has been discussed for steel production, carbon capture is a clear and valid option, but the infrastructure needs to be approved and in place to do this. British Steel successfully undertook a mobile carbon capture pilot plant at their Central Power Station in Scunthorpe with the University of Sheffield, developing transport fuels from the captured CO2. It is a missed opportunity to not do this at scale and retain production of virgin steel in the UK. We are facing a real risk of the UK finding itself the only G7 country without domestic steelmaking ability. To retain the UK’s skilled industrial workforce, blast furnaces with carbon capture, utilisation and storage should continue to be under consideration.”