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Steel without the fossil fuels

Steel-making is the biggest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide. Meet the Swedes who've found a way to produce steel without harming the planet.

Modern civilisation is quite literally built on steel. Our cities, our homes, our cars are unthinkable without it. But steel-making is the biggest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide so the search is on for a clean, green method of turning iron ore into steel.

Tom Heap meets the Swedes who are ahead of the pack. Three local companies- Vattenfall, LKAB and SSAB- have come together to deconstruct the whole process and develop ways to remove fossil-fuels from each stage of steel-making. From the enormous iron ore mines of Arctic Sweden to the smelters and furnaces that produce the steel, carbon dioxide emissions are being radically reduced, but how close can they get to a truly green steel?

Tom and Dr Tamsin Edwards discuss the Swedish plans and calculate just how much of this industry's emissions could be wiped out in a generation.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Researcher: Sarah Goodman

Produced in conjunction with the Royal Geographical Society. Particular thanks for this episode to Chris McDonald of the Materials Processing Institute.

Photo courtesy of: 脜sa B盲cklin and HYBRIT

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14 minutes

Last on

Sat 4 Jun 2022 14:45

Broadcasts

  • Fri 23 Apr 2021 13:45
  • Sat 4 Jun 2022 14:45

Our Planet Now

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