Construction of an abatement benefit model for the steel industry driven by technological innovation: A perspective on emerging technology factors

Decarbonizing the steel industry is crucial for carbon neutrality. New strategies and technologies are helping reduce emissions, while current analyses of abatement benefits take into account the impact of different technology shares on abatement potential, they often overlook the knowledge base of technological innovation, as well as the availability and practicality of these technologies. This limitation hinders steel enterprises from accurately identifying technological gaps and effectively deploying decarbonization technologies. Therefore, this article introduces a quantitative tool called the ‘Emerging Technology Factor’. It evaluates innovation knowledge and integrates it into steel industry carbon abatement analysis, boosting efficiency by 4.66 per cent on average. Under various scenarios, decarbonization technologies can reduce emissions by 406 million to 822 million tons, though at a significant cost. Technologies like BECCS for BF–BOF, Ammonia-DRI-EAF and H 2 -DRI-EAF show high potential and cost-effectiveness, making them top choices for future deployment.