Paths To A Greener Steel City
Environment Hamilton is very pleased to release a special report - Paths To A Greener Steel City - to help Hamiltonians understand more about the basics of current steelmaking processes, and how the practice of steelmaking is changing. There are steelmaking facilities out there that have already transitioned to 'green steel production' and these cutting edge plants bring with them not just profound reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but also significant reductions in the air pollutants that have plagued steel cities like Hamilton for well over a century.
We are sharing this report in the lead up to the next ArcelorMittal Dofasco Community Liaison Committee meeting - scheduled for October 25th starting at 5:30pm - when the company will share more detailed information with community members about the transformative shift planned for steelmaking at their Hamilton facility. ArcelorMittal Dofasco will be shifting to a process that uses 'Direct Reduced Iron' or 'DRI' combined with using an Electric Arc Furnace or 'EAF'. This DRI/EAF approach is greenest when fuelled by 'green hydrogen' or hydrogen that is produced using renewable energy. It is less green when fuelled by 'blue hydrogen' - which is hydrogen produced using natural gas. ArcelorMittal is proposing the latter- DRI/EAF using blue hydrogen and they are planning to construct and start the new operation by 2028.
CLICK HERE to access the Paths to A Greener Steel City report.
We would like to acknowledge student intern Angela Dittrich for the incredible work she has done pulling this report together. Angela is a second year student in York University's Juris Doctor/Master In Environmental Studies Program.