‘Green steel’ hope for the region
■ Thousands of jobs could be saved if emissions are reduced, report says ■ North could become a ‘world leader’ if Ministers and industry act now
YORKSHIRE AND the North could become a world leader in green steel in a move which could save thousands of jobs across the region if Ministers and industry leaders “act now”, a report says today.
The region’s historic but carbon-intensive steel industry could achieve net zero status by 2035, according to think-tank IPPR North, by harnessing the potential of electrification, carbon capture storage, and hydrogen technologies.
Its report, backed by a number of the region’s politicians and business figures, says decarbonising northern steel would cost an average of £267m a year by 2050 but would “help lay the foundations for a stronger, lowcarbon and productive industry”.
And it says the rewards and acting quickly could be “significant”, with economies around the world likely to start imposing extra charges on materials produced with more polluting methods.
High-quality technical and vocational education will be crucial to create the skills pipeline that industry in the North will need, meaning the low-carbon steel industry of the future “must start training the workforce of tomorrow, today”.
It comes amid uncertainty for the industry’s short-term future, with the potential collapse of lender Greensill Capital threatening thousands of jobs at Liberty Steel’s sites in Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Scunthorpe.
Report author and senior research fellow at IPPR North, Jonathan Webb, said: “Northern prosperity is national prosperity. And it can be achieved in part through good, strategic policy and investment in green steel in the North. The prize to be won is significant. A cleaner, greener industry that supports good jobs, prosperous places, and a more economically and environmentally just future.
“But we must act fast to seize the opportunity to recast steel as an industry of the future. The time to act is now if we are to become competitive, future world leaders in green steel.
“The steel industry underpins the economies and identities of so many towns and city regions across the North, and we need it now more than ever. If we are serious about levelling up, then we need to be serious about the building blocks of our future lowcarbon infrastructure.”
More than a third of UK steel jobs are in the North in places like South Yorkshire, Teesside, and the Humber, meaning some 12,000 jobs around the region and more than 20,000 in the supply chain could be safeguarded if action is taken.
The green stimulus proposed would require significant annual investment to develop new technologies and encourage uptake, says IPPR North. The costs would need to be met by the industry and government with annual investment increasing but treasury investment decreasing as time goes on.
Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis said: “Rather than an approach from government that is seemingly willing to let steel sink or swim, we need a fundamentally new approach.
“One that that creates jobs; makes zero-carbon steel production the default, to help tackle the climate emergency; supports domestic defence manufacturing; and, crucially, levels up the North of England.
“This Green Steel Stimulus provides the blueprints to do exactly that. It has never been more important that we safeguard the future viability of our steel industry.”