E70: Making greener steel at significant scale with Tim Hill of Nucor

The Keep Cool Podcast

Description: Nick is joined by Tim Hill, the General Manager of Sustainability Solutions for Nucor Corporation. Nucor is the largest steel producer and recycler in North America. Plus, Nucor produces steel via a larger circular and electricity-powered process; their steel uses recycled scrap and is made in electric arc furnaces (EAF) instead of blast and basic oxygen furnaces (BF/BOF). This makes Nucor not just one of the largest steel producers in the world, but a leader in steel decarbonization. Whereas green steel is often something that’s referred to as a future possibility, much greener steel is already available domestically today. In addition to these points, Nick and Tim discuss the following…:

1. Misconceptions about ‘hard to abate’: A necessary reframe for the fact that steel is often seen as a ‘hard to abate’ sector, given that Nucor already offers steel that In comparison, emits only 0.77* tons of CO2 per ton of steel produced for Scopes 1-3. That’s less than one third the GHG intensity of BF-BOF steelmaking (Worldsteel).
2. Additional decarbonization: There are many areas where Nucor can achieve additional emissions reductions along their supply chain, including in sourcing renewable and cleaner power. This is an area where Nucor is leading the market with numerous technological partnerships.
3. Global leadership: How can Nucor’s expertise in greener steel manufacturing spread to the rest of the world? There’s a lot of work to do to decarbonize steel; Nucor finds itself in a powerful leadership position, not just to export greener steel to markets globally, but to shape and influence how the entire world approaches decarbonization.

… and much more!

Timestamps:

00:02:17 - Guest Introduction: Tim's Career at Nucor

00:04:47 - Nucor's Enterprise Strategy and Decarbonization

00:05:08 - Common Misconceptions About U.S. Steel Industry

00:07:08 - Nucor's Leadership in Steel Recycling

00:11:19 - U.S. vs. Global Steel Production Methods

00:14:17 - Nucor's CO2 Emissions Compared to Global Averages

00:17:06 - History of Nucor's Decarbonization Journey

00:21:46 - Market Evolution and Customer Demand

00:25:56 - Catalytic Demand for Clean Energy

00:28:12 - Decarbonizing Remaining Emissions

00:31:05 - Investments in Fusion and Hydrogen Technologies

00:34:42 - Policy and Regulatory Frameworks

00:38:39 - Opportunities for Nucor in Global Markets

00:42:26 - Broader Climate and Energy Topics

Learn more about Nucor and their sustainability efforts here: https://nucor.com/sustainability

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