Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future

The report by RMI and the Green Hydrogen Catapult proposes the creation of 'green iron corridors' to decarbonize the steel sector. This strategy involves splitting production: ironmaking occurs in regions with abundant iron ore and renewable energy, while steelmaking remains in manufacturing hubs. This approach aims to reduce emissions and costs by leveraging renewable hydrogen-based ironmaking.

• The steel sector is responsible for 11% of global CO2 equivalent emissions, with demand projected to grow by 12% to 36% by 2050. To address this, the report advocates for the rapid scaling of renewable hydrogen-based ironmaking within the current decade.
• Green iron corridors split the production process, placing ironmaking in areas with renewable energy and iron ore, and steelmaking in regions with high demand and manufacturing capacity. This model can be more cost- and energy-efficient than transporting ore and hydrogen separately, particularly where it aligns with existing trade flows.
• Implementing green iron corridors could lead to substantial economic and environmental gains. Restructuring half of primary steelmaking to utilize green iron could save over $25 billion annually for the top 10 priority importers (approximately $80-125 per ton of steel). Additionally, accelerating corridors between iron exporters and Asia and the EU could reduce annual CO2 emissions by roughly 30 million tons by 2030.

APA

RMI (2024). Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future. https://rmi.org/resources/green-iron-corridors/

Chicago

RMI. Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/green-iron-corridors/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future |date=17 September 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/green-iron-corridors/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024green, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Green Iron Corridors: Transforming the Steel Supply Chains for a Sustainable Future}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/green-iron-corridors/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }