Authors: M.Freislich, S.Gale, P.Duncan, N.McClusky
2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Ironmaking, Sydney, August, 2008
Metal Bulletin, Steel & the Environment, London; September, 2008
Abstract
This paper will describe a methodology to quantify and qualify the potential CO2
abatement and abatement costs within steel businesses. G-CAP (Greenhouse gas Carbon
Abatement Process) is a bottom-up hybrid techno-economic methodology linking
operationally achievable CO2 abatement to strategically responsible corporate goals. It
has been used by Hatch to generate Marginal Abatement Cost Curves (MACC) for New
Zealand Steel, BlueScope Steel and OneSteel. It is now being used to create the MACC
for the Australian Steel Sector as a whole. A generic MACC is shown at Figure 11 and
generalised MACC at Figure 18.
Legislators around the world are responding to climate change by limiting and placing a
price upon CO2 emissions. The financial consequences of this vary depending upon the
CO2 intensity and ability of the sector to “pass on” any increased production costs. The
iron and steel sector is particularly vulnerable due to the close-coupling of production to
CO2 emissions and significant global trade in the commodity from regions without CO2
pricing. Legislators recognise this and are providing temporary concessions to the steel
industry and other so-called Energy Intense Trade Exposed Industries (EITEI).
