Insight 4: A just transition for steel should include resources for educational and training programs.

Bataille pointed to H2 Green Steel as an example. The startup was very involved from the beginning with local communities near where the new factory is to be built, he said, so there wasn’t a lot of backlash. He suggested that another way to consider community needs is to site any new plants on abandoned, clean brownfields whenever possible.

Global cooperation is necessary in the just transition, too: Bataille recommended that as many early green-steel developments as possible should be in developing countries — to be near the sites of growing demand, drive development, and boost economies. Many of the workshop participants emphasized the need for educational programs to train people in new steel technologies, especially in India and China.

ThyssenKrupp’s Jaroni added that government officials, too, could potentially benefit from education about emerging steel-decarbonization strategies. She believes that education of this type could be a boon to her company as well, as it seeks to transition to new tech and processes, some of which will require approvals from government.

For his part, Raabe, who is a professor at RWTH Aachen in Germany and an honorary professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, is worried that too few young people are opting for educational paths that will prepare them to solve the steel decarbonization problem. Raabe pointed to shrinking classes and departments in metallurgy — and noted that the research literature in an area where it is desperately needed is suffering as a result. He noted that while a search for climate change yielded more than 55,000 papers in 2022, a search for sustainable metallurgy turned up only 110 papers during the same period.

Raabe said his consistent message for young environmental idealists at the cusp of their higher education is, “If you want to solve the decarbonization problem, study metallurgy.”

Go to next insight:

Insight 1: Multiple technologies for producing lower carbon steel are here — including electrolysis and clean hydrogen — with each presenting its own challenges.

Insight 2: Steelmakers and sustainability advocates alike must be willing to embrace a ‘messy middle’ as the industry transitions to a decarbonized future.

Insight 3: The world needs a consensus definition of green steel (and green iron).

Insight 4: A just transition for steel should include resources for educational and training programs.