LESS awards first European green steel certifications

The first certifications for low-carbon steel awarded under the Low Emissions Steel Standard (LESS) were issued to European steelmakers on 17 September, representing welcome progress for the EU’s clean steel transition. 

LESS – now under the remit of Brussels-based non-profit LESS AISBL – launched in 2024 and was originally developed by German Steel Association WV Stahl, designed in concert with German steel stakeholders and government authorities.

European steel companies Georgsmarienhütte, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, Salzgitter Flachstahl, Peiner Träger, Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech, and Ilsenburger Grobblech are now authorised to label certified products with the LESS label (see table below) giving buyers greater certainty that relevant low-carbon steel purchases represent actual emissions reductions.

Sweden’s greenfield low-carbon steelmaker Stegra – currently constructing its hydrogen-fed direct-reduced iron to electric-arc furnace steel plant – joined LESS earlier in September, preceded by ArcelorMittal’s individual EU entities and Tata Steel Netherlands during the summer. LESS now claims to represent approximately 45% of European steel production.

LESS is considered by many in the market to be the leading candidate for establishment as a regulatory standardisation or norm for the EU’s decarbonised steel productions, backed by independent verification criteria. The European Commission is to propose an official definition of ‘green steel’ before the year’s end as per the European Steel and Metals Action Plan, with voluntary low-carbon labels for steel products to be incorporated into circular economy and public procurement guidance or mandates.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that “Made in Europe” labelling criteria would also be introduced into European public procurement policy at a high-level meeting of German industrial leaders 18 September, potentially further strengthening demand for the EU’s low-carbon products if both domestic and sustainability boundaries are introduced into public procurement’s 14% share of EU GDP.

A regulatory green steel definition is important as a communicative mechanism to lead markets, ensuring that purchases of green steel are recognised in decarbonisation metrics and commitments.

The LESS standard operates using a ‘sliding scale’ approach across six categories (optimally “near-zero”, then Low Emissions: A-E) which aims to define green steel in a practical sense, giving greater weight to carbon reductions the lesser the constituent share of steel scrap. This is due to the inherent insufficiency in European – and global – scrap supply, with scrap only available to cover 45% of projected demand by 2050 under best case scenarios.

By accounting for the scrap share in a steel products make-up, Europe’s blast furnace-dominant steel industry is incentivised to make real emissions reductions and support the development of alternate low-carbon iron inputs. The most visible route for green iron production as a steelmaking input is hydrogen-based direct-reduced iron (DRI), adopted into many of EU steelmakers’ decarbonisation roadmaps for use in scheduled electric-arc furnace (EAF) renovation projects.

LESS does not discriminate by production route – measuring emissions at the hot-rolling stage – and so is understandably favoured by blast furnace producers, who celebrate the potential to draw revenue from and make visible their decarbonisation initiatives during their progression rather than postponing the realisation of green premia to their conclusion.

Scrap recyclers, and some electric-arc furnace producers are less enthused however, seeing incorporation of sliding scale mechanisms as threatening to their potential to secure low-carbon market share and associated with talk of scrap export controls, preferring carbon accounting on absolute metrics, especially as they already find it difficult to manifest a premium for material that has had a comparatively reduced carbon footprint historically.

However, the award of a ‘Low Emission: A’ rating to Peiner Träger, when producing via electric-arc furnace with green electricity should demonstrate that electric-arc producers are still able to achieve the highest low-carbon ratings in participation with the LESS framework.

LESS certifications, September issue

Benjamin Steven Journalist, Steel

opisnet.com