The potential for improvements in energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in the EU27 iron and steel industry under different payback periods

• European Iron & Steel industry is modelled using a detailed bottom-up model.
• The study prospects the energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in the European industry.
• The initial CO2 emissions are adjusted to match real data coming from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.
• For short payback periods, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions is around 20%.
• For longer payback periods, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions ranges between 50% and 65%.

This paper analyses the cost effectiveness of the implementation of some of the Best Available Technologies (BATs) and Innovative Technologies (ITs) in the European industry up to 2030. This is done using a bottom-up model that considers the main processes involved in each facility. The model described in the paper assumes the retrofitting/upgrade of each European facility with a BAT or IT as soon as the criterion for a capital budgeting decision is met. The paper details the effect on the savings in energy and CO2 emissions by European industry, assuming different levels of requirement in the payback period used as main capital-budgeting decision criterion. This approach reveals the full potential that some technologies under research (as the ones considered in the Ultra–Low CO2 Steelmaking project and Carbon Capture and Storage technologies, as well as other technologies that are not widely deployed (Direct Reduced Iron technologies), may have in the European industry. The starting point of the simulation is adjusted so that the CO2 emissions of each facility in the model have a counterpart in the emissions recorded for the benchmarking exercise of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. The results show that, by 2030, for a payback period of two years, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions is around 20%. Whereas, by 2030, for a payback period of six years, the margin of improvement in CO2 emissions is in the range between 50% and 65%.