At the Turkey Sectoral Low Carbon Road Maps Introduction Program held at Gebze Bilişim Vadisi on March 18, Sinan Durmaz, industry and technology expert, and Veysel Yayan, general secretary of the Turkish Steel Producers Association, shared information about the low carbon and green growth technology road maps for the Turkish steel industry.
Pointing to the contraction in Turkey’s exports amid various trade policies, Mr. Durmaz stated that the competitiveness of the Turkish steel industry will be regained with the low carbon road map. Reporting that six scenarios have been studied for the steel industry and four of them are emission reduction scenarios, the industry and technology expert stated that the "Low Carbon Pathway Scenario" (LCP) has been evaluated as the most important scenario. Within the given scenario, which is based on the extension of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, increasing the share of electric arc furnaces in production and replacing blast furnaces with direct reduced iron-basic oxygen furnace technologies by the 2050s, carbon emissions will be reduced by 17 percent, 47 percent and 99 percent by 2030, 2040 and 2053, respectively, compared to the “Stated Policy Scenario” (SPS). Stating that the LCP is the lowest cost and optimal emission reduction scenario, Durmaz emphasized that a 99.7 percent emission reduction can be achieved by 2053 by establishing a national emission trading system.
Meanwhile, predicting that the share of electric arc furnaces in crude steel production, which is currently at 71.6 percent, will reach 83 percent by 2053 without any blast furnace investments, Durmaz stated that the electric arc furnaces need technological transformation and that advanced technologies should be used in blast furnace facilities. He added that the annual investment required for these developments is close to $1 billion.
Speaking at the second session of the program, Veysel Yayan stated that emissions output at integrated facilities is six times higher than that at electric arc furnace facilities. Emphasizing that it is important to eliminate fossil fuels and produce inputs with renewable energy to reduce the emission rate at integrated facilities, Mr. Yayan stated that developing alternative inputs to scrap used in electric arc furnace facilities is important and that energy should be replaced with renewable energy. Saying that large financing is required for investments, especially in renewable energy, Yayan concluded his speech by expressing his hopes that steps would be taken towards Turkey’s green transformation using its national resources.
