Decarbonising Iron does not mean Iron making must become "Hydrogen-based"

Decarbonising Iron Does Not Mean Ironmaking Must Become “Hydrogen-Based” Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. The real decarbonisation challenge is therefore not what we call steel, but how iron itself is produced. Today, around 70% of the world’s iron is produced using the blast furnace (BF) and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) route. This is not a marginal pathway—it is the backbone of global steelmaking. The BF–BOF process relies on carbonaceous materials to chemically reduce iron ore, provide high-temperature process heat, and maintain continuous, stable operation. If carbon emissions are to be eliminated, hydrogen can play a role. But that does not mean hydrogen must be used directly and simultaneously as both the fuel and the reductant. That assumption unnecessarily narrows the solution space. The objective is not to eliminate carbon at all costs. The objective is to eliminate emissions at the system boundary. Hydrogen can be used indirectly to decarbonise ironmaking—as an energy vector supplying carbon-free heat and power, or as part of an integrated system that prevents CO₂ release—without forcing hydrogen to replace carbon everywhere it performs an essential metallurgical function. Ironmaking is a continuous industrial process. It cannot depend on intermittent energy, annual averaging, or offset accounting. Without firm, dispatchable, carbon-free power available 24 hours a day, emissions are simply shifted upstream or deferred in time. This is why system architecture matters more than the selection of technology. When energy systems are designed correctly—integrating renewable electricity, storage, and recyclable energy carriers—it becomes possible to retain carbon where it is functionally necessary while eliminating emissions at the industrial boundary. The defining question is not which molecule we choose. The defining question is whether the energy system delivers continuous, carbon-free power and prevents emissions at the point of production. That is the standard true green iron must meet.