SteelWatch responds to British Steel intervention: Invest forward, not backward for competitive low-emissions steel

Monday 14 April 2025, London: The UK government’s emergency intervention to take control of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe marks a critical step to prevent a chaotic collapse of a major industrial site, according to SteelWatch, an organisation which advocates for the decarbonisation of the steel industry. What’s needed now is an industrial strategy that protects jobs, cuts CO2 emissions and modernises the sector for a renewable-powered and therefore competitive economy.

Caroline Ashley, Executive Director at Steelwatch, said: 

“Emergency legislation in the UK prevented a chaotic transition at the Scunthorpe steel plant. Blast furnaces have been around for 300 years and a decent transition can’t happen in a matter of days. But what really matters is to use this reprieve to plan transformation of UK steelmaking to a competitive and low-emissions future. That will mean investing in electric arc furnaces and getting past the myths that preserving the UK’s steelmaking capacity is the same thing as preserving its blast furnaces – it’s not.”

Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) produce steel using recycled scrap – a resource of which the UK has plenty – and a small amount of fresh green iron, which can be imported from long-standing trading partners like Sweden, Canada and Australia.

Global momentum is already shifting: The US already produces 70% of its steel in an EAF and last year, more than 90% of new steelmaking capacity announced globally were for EAFs. 

Some commentators in the UK argue that blast furnaces are needed for making quality steel. But technology has moved on faster than assumptions. Major car makers, such as Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, are already procuring high-quality low-emissions steel made in an EAF.  Sheffield Forgemasters in the UK supplies the defence industry from EAF production. The French railway SNCF has already entered into contracts for greener steel, made in an EAF. To remain competitive, the UK must modernise its production infrastructure. 

Ashley added:

“This argument about ‘virgin steel’ is out of date. It’s the quality of steel that matters. In the future industry, electric arc furnaces powered with renewable electricity will provide a full spectrum of steel products, with a mix of recycled scrap and some low-emissions iron that can be bought in briquette form. That is a future in which UK steel can be both competitive and low-emissions. 

“Emotions in the UK are high and there is a lot of confusion that, for the UK to ‘make its own steel’ it must ‘keep its own coal-based blast furnaces’. The blast furnace makes iron from imported iron ore and coal. The UK can buy green iron instead. The electric arc furnace makes steel, and a UK-based electric arc furnace is just as much ‘UK steel’ as any other.”

Some have pointed to climate policy as the cause of the Scunthorpe crisis, but the evidence tells a different story. Steel industry jobs in the UK declined by 90% between 1970 and 2014 – a year before the Paris Agreement and well before net zero targets were introduced. Secure quality jobs for the future depend on a clear process for a transition plan to making competitive low-emissions steel. 

“The economies and industries of the future, including steelmaking, will be powered by renewable energy. If Britain wants to lead, it must invest in the future, not double down on a fossil-fuels based past. A shift to green steel is not about giving up on British steel, but upgrading it, taking workers along every step of the way.” 

Steelmaking accounts for around 11% of global CO2 emissions, with traditional blast furnaces like in Scunthrope, among the most polluting industrial processes. For every tonne of steel produced, a blast furnace emits 1.4 tonnes of CO2 – more CO2 than iron by weight.

ENDS

For media enquiries or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Gözde Incegul
Communications Lead
SteelWatch (Istanbul, GMT+3)
[email protected]
+90 537 53 5442

Caroline Ashley
Director, SteelWatch (London, GMT)
[email protected]
+44 7947 691 911

About SteelWatch: SteelWatch is a non-profit organisation dedicated to advocating for the transformation to a decarbonised steel industry, enabling the environment, communities and workers to thrive. Read more: www.steelwatch.org

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