Energy Efficiency Milestone for Steel Industry Jan 21, 2009

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The U.S. steel industry achieved a new milestone in energy efficiency by reducing its energy intensity per ton of steel shipped by approximately 33% since 1990. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) said the reduction is a further improvement since AISI announced a 29% reduction in 2006. Because of the close relationship between energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, AISI says the industry’s aggregate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per ton of steel shipped have also been substantially reduced. Compared to the Kyoto Protocol’s call for an average U.S. reduction of 7% in greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2012, AISI says this means the American steel industry has already surpassed the Kyoto target.

"This improvement in energy efficiency is evidence of the steel industry’s longstanding commitment to sustainability," said Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO. "This commitment has brought our processes almost to the limit of energy-efficiency. Our future plans are built round sectoral programs, such as the Asia Pacific Partnership—where steelmakers and their governments in China, India, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Korea, with us, are discussing energy intensity reduction targets until 2020. In the long-term, we are working on developing breakthrough steelmaking processes that emit little or no CO2."

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