Brazil has all the ingredients to lead the world in producing green steel, but it must expand its forest base to produce wood-based biochar. That is according to Silvia Nascimento, CEO of Aco Verde Brasil – one of the world’s cleanest steelmakers – who said the amount of wood required to produce a tonne of pulp is greater than a tonne of green steel.
Speaking at a Forest Leaders Summit, Ms Nascimento said Brazil’s steel companies are committed to finding solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make their energy and carbon-intensive operations more sustainable. However, she said, the challenge lies in increasing the volume of timber harvested to keep pace with production.
“Brazil has the most developed pulp sector in the world, with an estimated production of 25 and 30 million tonnes this year,” Ms Nascimento told the forum during a discussion about green steelmaking. “All this production is based on eucalyptus cultivation of (about 2.5 million hectares of) reforestation.”
Ms Nascimento said the key to growth is to expand the plantation of eucalyptus by targeting Brazi’s vast areas of degraded land that could expand the forest base without adding to deforestation or disturbing native forests. “Therefore, the major challenge is to demystify paradigms and promote a more accurate understanding of the sector and its sustainable practices.”
Wood Central understands that most green steel projects use the direct reduction of mineral coal with natural gas and hydrogen or scrap recycling. Ms Nascimento said both technologies are necessary to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, and Brazil has the potential to stand out in this scenario due to its cleaner power generation mix and abundance of renewable sources:
“The Brazilian forest base today is constructed and planted with the most modern techniques available in the industry. So, in our case, the first stage of steelmaking begins in the forests,” Ms Nascimento said. “Moreover, charcoal is a 100% Brazilian raw material, free from international dependence, immune to external blockades, with no need for imports, and without the impacts of currency fluctuation.”
- To learn how wood-based biochar is helping to “future-proof” steel production, click here for Wood Central’s special feature in May 2023. To find out why Brazil is well-positioned to become a global leader in green steelmaking, click here for a report published by Global Energy Monitor in August 2024.
