The UK’s last remaining blast furnaces, which vent huge amounts of carbon dioxide, are facing the axe under a new government plan to align the steel industry with net-zero targets. Business Secretary Peter Kyle has backed a decisive shift to cleaner electric arc furnaces (EAFs) at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe.
This move, to be detailed in a December steel strategy, would secure the long-term future of production at the site, which has been under emergency state control since April. However, it signals the end of an era for traditional, carbon-intensive steelmaking in Britain.
The technological difference is stark. Blast furnaces create primary steel from iron ore, while EAFs use electricity to melt down scrap steel. This change is essential for decarbonisation but comes with two major consequences: the loss of thousands of jobs and the end of the UK’s “primary steelmaking” capability.
Unions are preparing for a difficult negotiation, welcoming the “just transition” rhetoric but insisting on protections. The Community union has been clear that “maintaining primary steelmaking capacity” is a key demand, alongside job security, pointing to the mass redundancies at Port Talbot as a cautionary tale.
The government is considering a compromise by investing in a Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) facility, which could use green hydrogen to make a product compatible with EAFs. However, industry sources are skeptical of the cost, especially as the government’s steel fund has already been heavily impacted by bailouts for British Steel and Liberty Steel.