U.S. Steel’s Fruehauf Touts Steel as Key to Clean Energy Transition

“Steel is really important to a clean energy transition,” Fruehauf stated during the opening keynote address.

The event was held at the Sheraton Station Square just across the Monongahela River from U.S. Steel’s headquarters in Pittsburgh. Companies from a range of industries were in attendance, as were suppliers, banks, government agencies, and institutions. All share the goal of igniting collective decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors.

Fruehauf touted U.S. Steel’s Big River Steel mill in Osceola, Ark., and its use of electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking as helping the company achieve its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. By utilizing EAF technology, “We can get to a very low emission steel footprint … in a way that is supportive of our business goals,” he noted.

A significant theme throughout day one of the conference was the critical role of collaborative partnerships in industry’s transition to a greener future.

Fruehauf said U.S. Steel has partnerships across the supply chain. In Arkansas, energy provider Entergy will supply the Big River Steel mega-mill with energy from its solar field right next to/on the steelmaking campus, he said. And Big River is set to become Entergy’s largest electricity consumer once its two new EAFs come online.

The use of renewable solar and nuclear energy will be pivotal in decarbonizing, he said.

Its relationship with General Motors is another vital partnership for U.S. Steel. As automakers work to lower carbon emissions in vehicles, “they come talk to steel companies first,” Fruehauf said, showing the continuing importance of steel in automaking. The steelmaker announced earlier this year it will be providing GM with its line of VerdeX® sustainable steels made at Big River.

U.S. Steel is forging other collaborative partnerships in developing new technologies to capture off-gases. The development of regional hydrogen hubs is another important synergistic collaboration.

Fruehauf pointed out that $8 billion from the US government’s infrastructure bill is slated specifically for the buildout of these hubs.

He also noted that the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) industrial decarbonization program has given the US government the power to provide grants (instead of just low-interest loans as has been done before).

These programs may not be the “magic bullet,” but they will “accelerate a lot of changes you’re seeing in US industry,” he said.

Fruehauf noted the cost-effectiveness and availability of hydrogen and electricity when asked about the challenges and hurdles for steel in the new decarbonized economy. The electricity transmission grid also needs to be further developed.

Along this same line, electrification is a significant part of the world’s transition to cleaner energy, he said, especially in transportation. And steel will play a major role in that, as motors and electric vehicles (EVs) need specialty electrical steels.

U.S. Steel will supply up to 200,000 tons of its Indux steel annually from its new non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steel line at Big River. The line will come online in the current quarter but will not reach a full run rate until next year.

U.S. Steel has deliberately planned its roadmap for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Fruehauf said that the company is actively watching and staying engaged with the development of new technologies to help it reduce its carbon footprint even further. He noted that the “next big chunk will come from the maturation of technologies available today.”

With its infinite recyclability, steel has a huge opportunity to drive the circular economy, Fruehauf said.

“Circularity is important to [the clean energy] transition, to our strategy, to our move towards more EAF production,” he noted.

U.S. Steel is not concerned about a potential scrap shortage “because we have substitutes,” Fruehauf said.