Opportunities for Near-Zero-Emissions Steel Production in the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes region remains the heartland of US steelmaking, but its primary production assets face a critical transition to avoid becoming noncompetitive as global demand for low-emissions steel grows. While federal legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides significant funding and tax credits (such as 45V and 45Q), the report finds a lack of coordinated state-level industrial strategies. The document argues that the region must prioritize the adoption of Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) pathways—specifically those using renewable hydrogen or carbon capture—to maintain high-quality jobs and reduce local air pollution. Key bottlenecks include grid interconnection delays for renewable energy, the need for Class VI primacy for carbon sequestration, and a lack of steel-specific workforce retraining programs.

• The Great Lakes region is the center of US steel production, accounting for 60% of US steel production in 2021, with Indiana (27%), Ohio (11%), Pennsylvania (5%), Illinois (4%), and Michigan (3%) as the primary contributors.
• Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) pathways are identified as the most competitive and effective for decarbonization. Hydrogen-based DRI-EAF has the lowest emissions intensity and, when federal subsidies are included, the lowest levelized cost among primary steel production pathways.
• There is a significant policy gap at the state level in the Great Lakes; no state in the region has established specific greenhouse gas targets or a transition timetable specifically for the steel industry.
• Transitioning to near-zero-emissions steel can improve local health by reducing criteria air pollutants. DRI-EAF pathways significantly reduce harmful pollutants compared to traditional Blast furnace–basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) methods.
• Employment impacts vary by technology: hydrogen DRI facilities can directly employ between 1,300 and 1,700 individuals throughout the supply chain, whereas CCS DRI-EAF pathways are projected to reduce overall supply chain employment to roughly 1,000 individuals.
• Grid interconnection is a major barrier to the renewable energy needed for EAFs and hydrogen production, with PJM and MISO having 3,042 and 1,734 active projects in their queues, respectively.
• Carbon capture deployment is hindered by the slow EPA permitting process for Class VI wells; currently, only North Dakota and Wyoming have state primacy, while Ohio is the only Great Lakes state seeking it.

APA

RMI (2023). Opportunities for Near-Zero-Emissions Steel Production in the Great Lakes. https://rmi.org/resources/gap-analysis-for-near-zero-emissions-steel-production-in-the-great-lakes/

Chicago

RMI. Opportunities for Near-Zero-Emissions Steel Production in the Great Lakes. 2023. https://rmi.org/resources/gap-analysis-for-near-zero-emissions-steel-production-in-the-great-lakes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Opportunities for Near-Zero-Emissions Steel Production in the Great Lakes |date=26 September 2023 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/gap-analysis-for-near-zero-emissions-steel-production-in-the-great-lakes/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2023opportunities, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Opportunities for Near-Zero-Emissions Steel Production in the Great Lakes}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/gap-analysis-for-near-zero-emissions-steel-production-in-the-great-lakes/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }