The continued partnership between Sidenor’s and ecoke shows a huge commitment to implementing sustainable practices for a better world today and into the future. Highlighting a window of opportunity for those who want to move quickly to implement fundamental process changes and begin the transition to a fossil free steel industry. ecoke has changed the way in which steel manufacturers create their products, offering real decarbonisation improvements immediately with little to no process change or investment by simply replacing traditional fossil fuels with responsibly sourced bio-based alternatives

The need for a solution

The steel industry alone is responsible for approximately 7% of global CO2 emissions and 5% of all EU emissions (Worldsteel 2022). Increasing pressure by government policy, stakeholder requirements and consumer demand is highlighting the need to rapidly commercialise less CO2 intensive practices into the steel making process. Whilst the industry has considered such changes for years, only a few companies are piloting changes in small volumes. Beyond that, little progress has been made and many low carbon technologies are only in earlier stages of development and are not yet deployed regularly at a commercial level.
Whist a collection of technological advancements offers a bright future for the industry. One issue remains. What can be done now?

ecoke offers a rare opportunity for first movers and pioneers within the steel sector to make an immediate impact in CO2 reduction.

By replacing non-renewable fossil fuels such as coke, coal, and anthracite with ecoke bio-based briquettes, end users can expect to decarbonise their raw material inputs by at least 30% immediately, without process change or significant investment.

Sidenor leading the way.

Sidenor’s credentials in reducing CO2 emissions and decarbonisation strategies are already greatly advanced, employing a philosophy of best business practice in all areas of steelmaking. Synonymous with innovation and continuous improvement, Sidenor still manages to balance the functional and quality requirements of their end users. The commitment adopted by Sidenor reflects the strong belief that its future is closely linked to the respect for the environment, the people who work in it and society in general.

In this sense, by 2023 Sidenor reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 62% since 2005. In 2023, Sidenor took a major step in the contribution to the objectives of the Paris Agreement, committing to the SBT (Science BasedTargets), on the way to decarbonize operations and become a company with zero net emissions which has firmly situated the premises as one of the front runners in low CO2 intensive steelmaking within Europe.

The plant now has an impressive output capacity of up to 900,000 tonnes per annum of low fossil intensive steels.

Commenting on the integration of ecoke as a fossil fuel substitution within the Sidenor process Climate Change Manager Asier Zubero says “ecoke has been thoroughly tested to ensure compatibility with our process and specialty steel products. Through over 20 laboratory scale trials and 8 months of industrial integration no detrimental impact has been observed from replacing traditional fossil anthracite with the bio based ecoke briquette”.

ecoke is produced and distributed by Invica Industries Ltd. With over 40 years in the solid fuel and briquetting industry, production capacity exceeds 500,000 tonnes annually and represents the best available technique to provide a sustainable, reliable, and scalable solution for removing fossil fuels within the Sidenor and wider steel manufacturing process. Jason Sutton, CEO of Invica Industries Ltd says: “We are immensely proud to support Sidenor’s robust sustainability agenda. Sidenor’s credentials in reducing CO2 emissions and decarbonisation strategies are already very advanced and we were able to identify a natural fit between our businesses to pursue a common goal.”

By using ecoke, Sidenor are sending a clear message to the industry that significant change is happening here in 2024. Collaboration between Sidenor and ecoke will continue to thrive as the companies build upon the already significant decarbonisation achievements made to date.

Be a part of the change.
As we embark on this next chapter, we are excited about the possibilities that are ahead. And we hope to see more steel producers follow suit soon and reap the rewards that ecoke can provide.

Interested in how ecoke can help your business and easily fit into your supply chain get in touch at: [email protected]