- Last year, Nucor was the 7th largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the U.S.
- We will continue to invest in renewable energy generation and evaluate the use of green hydrogen to produce DRI.
- Behind-the-meter renewable energy is also being installed when appropriate. An example is our Vulcraft facility located in Chemung, NY. A 2.2 MW DC roof mount solar power system is located on site and consists of approximately 3,960 solar panels and produces 2,553 MWh per year.
OUR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION TARGET STRATEGY
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Nucor already has a carbon intensity less than one-third of today’s world average. Which puts Nucor 18 years ahead of the below 2-degrees target.
But we know that is not enough, and we are committed to going further.
Nucor is committing to a 35% combined reduction in steel mill scope 1 and scope 2 GHG intensity by 2030, using 2015 baseline goals. This goal will take Nucor’s steel mill CO2 emissions down to 77% less than 2020’s global steelmaking average.
In addition:
- In addition to scope 1 and 2, Nucor will continue to reduce and disclose most of its scope 3 emissions.
- Nucor has already achieved and will continue to meet the Paris Agreement and below Two Degree Scenario based on the GHG sector-based benchmarks established in 2021 by the Transition Pathways Initiative (TPI).
- Beyond 2030, we are committed to continuing reductions in steel mill carbon intensity towards net zero-emission steel at scale.
Nucor teammates have developed a data driven, multi-pronged approach to ensure our success.
Our approach includes:
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Increased Utilization of Renewable Energy
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ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS
- Our EAF Operations are already the most efficient steelmaking process in the world. We will continue evaluating additional technologies that we can use in our steelmaking operations like off-gas heat recovery, burner improvement, highly efficient power supply systems and scrap preheating alternatives.
- We have recently started operations at two new Micro Mills that melts, casts and rolls steel in under two hours into rebar thereby eliminating the burning of natural gas for reheating.
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CARBON CAPTURE
- Currently we are exploring the feasibility of carbon sequestration project at one of our mills
- Evaluation of other carbon capture technology that involves the capture of CO2 within cement and concrete.
- Evaluation of substitutes for carbon injection by using biomass or other recycled content.
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SUPPLY CHAIN GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS
- This includes more efficient use of our scrap and sources of raw materials.
- Nucor will continue to report Scope 3 GHG emissions tied to our supply chain. Most of our domestic competition does not include this level of transparency within their disclosures ignoring significant sources of embedded carbon within their steel like purchased coke.
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LONG TERM TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
- Research is being conducted around the world to find the next breakthrough in steelmaking technology that can change the industry the way EAF steelmaking has.
- We will continue to follow and evaluate this research on technologies that can take Nucor and steelmaking to a whole new level.
- Our long-term technical evaluations have included dozens of innovative solutions including the use of renewable biocarbon, carbon encapsulation within concrete, sequestration, more efficient lance injection, nuclear power, and green hydrogen just to name a few.