For the first time ever, India surpassed China as the top
developer of coal-based capacity: it holds 40% of coal-based ‘blast
furnace-basic oxygen furnace’ capacity under development, while China is
responsible for 39%.
New Delhi:
Coal-based steelmaking capacity under development globally that follows the
‘blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace’ production method increased to 380 mtpa in
2022 from 350 mtpa in 2021. This comes at a time when its share of the world’s
total capacity must shrink dramatically in order to hit decarbonization
targets, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor.
The annual survey of data in the Global Steel Plant Tracker finds that almost
all of the coal-based capacity under development is in Asia (99%), with China and
India holding the majority of those developments (79% together).
For the first time ever, India surpassed China as the top developer of
coal-based capacity: it holds 40% of coal-based ‘blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace’
capacity under development, while China is responsible for 39%.
But while coal-based steelmaking has in recent years ceded part of its share to
cleaner forms of production, the transition is moving far too slowly.
According to the International Energy Agency’s Net-zero by 2050 scenario, the
total share of ‘electric arc furnace’ capacity should reach 53% by 2050. This
means 347 million metric tonnes (Mt) of coal-based capacity would need to be
retired or canceled and 610 Mt of electric arc furnace capacity would need to
be added to the current fleet.
Caitlin
Swalec, Program Director for Heavy Industry at Global Energy Monitor, said:
“Steel producers and consumers need to raise ambition for decarbonization
plans. The transition away from coal-based steelmaking is underway but moving
far too slowly. Developers that add coal-based capacity now run the risk of
facing billions in write downs in the future.”