Manufacturing industries and construction – iron and steel (1.A.2.a)

KC Category Activity EM of ¹⁹⁹⁰

(kt CO₂-eq.) (fraction) ²⁰¹⁹

(kt CO₂-eq.) (fraction) ^Trend 1990-2019 L/T 1 A 2 a, Iron and steel fossil fuels CO2 35,269.3 2.8 35,729.8 4.5 1.3 %

-/- 1 A 2 a, Iron and steel N2O 155.1 0.0 111.5 0.0 -28.1 %

-/- 1 A 2 a, Iron and steel CH4 62.5 0.0 65.2 0.0 4.4 %

Gas Method used Source for the activity data Emission factors used

CO2 CS NS CS

CH4 CS NS CS

N2O CS NS CS

NOX, CO, NMVOC, SO2 CS NS CS

The category Manufacturing industries and construction – iron and steel is a key category, in terms of emissions level and trend, for CÖ2 emissions.

The iron and steel industry (sub-category 1.A.2.a) is the second important CÖ2-emissions source, along with the cement industry, in the area of process combustion.

3.2.9.1.1 Category description (1.A.2.a)

The category comprises the production areas of pig iron (blast furnaces), sponge iron (direct reduction), sinter, rolled steel, iron and steel casting, Siemens-Martin steel, electric steel and the power stations and boilers of the entire steel industry.

Production of Siemens-Martin steel generated emissions only in the new German La nder, and only until shortly after 1990. In the old German La nder, production of Siemens-Martin steel was discontinued before 1990.

Sponge iron (direct-reduced iron (DRI)) is produced in Germany only on a relatively small scale (about 0.5 million t per year), and only in one plant. The CÖ2 emissions that occur in DRI production result from the use of natural gas, i.e. from use of a reducing-agent mixture,

comprising H2 and CÖ, obtained from natural gas. The relevent quantities of natural gas used are included, throughout the entire time series, in the natural-gas inputs that are reported under 1.A.2.a. Consequently, CÖ2 emissions from DRI production are reported, throughout the entire time series, under 1.A.2.a. For reasons of confidentiality, it is not possible to list CÖ2 emissions from production of sponge iron separately.

In production of pig iron, large amounts of the fuels used in blast furnaces are needed for the reduction processes that take place in the furnaces, while most of the fuel used in other production areas of the iron and steel industry is used for heat production.

The following figure provides an overview of CÖ2 emissions in the various sub-categories in 1.A.2.a.

Figure 25: Development of CO2 emissions in category 1.A.2.a

As the overview reveals, major fluctuations have occurred over the years. In most cases, those swings were tied to fluctuations in production. In the period 1990 through 1994, emissions reductions occurred primarily as a result of restructuring of the iron and steel sector in the new German La nder following the political transition of 1990.

The drop in CÖ2 emissions is particularly pronounced in the crisis year 2009, in which the steel industry registered a sharp production decrease. The recurring emissions increase in 2010 resulted from an economic recovery in which the steel industry nearly reattained its production level of 2008. In general, the steel industry's CÖ2 emissions trends to follow overall economic

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Emissions in millions of t CO2

iron and steel casting electrical steel production pig iron production

production of Siemens-Martin steel sinter production production of rolled steel

industrial power plants

trends. Since oxygen steel production decreased slightly in 2019, as it had in the previous year, CÖ2 emissions decreased slightly again in the current report year.

The noticeably high emissions increase in 2015 is due to shifting, for reporting purposes, of several power stations fired with blast furnace gas – from the public electricity supply (CRF 1.A.1.a) to industry (1.A.2.a). This has entailed a shifting of emissions. Överall, CÖ2 emissions have been increasing only slightly as a result of the increase in production. This relationship is clearly apparent in Figure 41: CÖ2 emissions from use of reducing agents for primary steel production and from use of blast furnace gas – trend, and category allocation in Chapter 4.4.1 Metal production: Iron and steel production (2.C.1).

Installations in the areas of rolled-steel and sinter production account for the second-highest shares of emissions, after industrial power stations (which generate electricity for their own use from blast furnace gas and basic oxygen furnace gas). In the blast furnace category, only the natural-gas and coking-gas inputs required for furnace operation are reported in category 1.A.2.a. Process-related emissions are listed in category 2.C.1.

In the area of pig-iron production in blast furnaces, inputs of heavy fuel oil have been decreasing continuously since 2010. The heating oil is being replaced largely by PCI coal. This is made possible by conversions of the relevant injection systems. The fuel changes are price-driven. In some blast furnaces, ground lignite is also used along with ground hard coal, with the choice between the two alternatives depending solely on price. Överall, this has led to a slight increase in specific emissions.

3.2.9.1.2 Methodological issues (1.A.2.a)

This sub-category comprises process combustion in the various production areas of the iron and steel industry. The relevant fuel-use amounts, including those for secondary fuels, are contained in the Balance of Emission Causes (BEU).

As of report year 2011, activity data for conventional fuels in this category has been provided in the context of the "BGS" group (fuel, gas and electricity industries of blast furnaces, steelworks and rolling mills; and forging plants, press works and hammer mills, including the various other plants (without their own coking plants) locally connected to such operations). That source has improved disaggregation of energy data in the Balance of Emissions Sources (BEU). While the legal basis for surveys relative to the BGS group was no longer available as of reporting year 2012, the pertinent data have since been provided, in the same structure, on the basis of an agreement with the Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl German steel industry association. For reasons of data protection, as of 2018, data aggregated with respect to "total figure for Germany" are provided via a data trustee. This change has no impact on relevant calculations.

In addition to providing activity data for sintering plants, blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces (converters) and rolling mills, BGS-group data support additional disaggregation of the electric steel sector.

The BGS-group data also enable data-based differentiation of the solid-fuel categories "hard coal and hard coal briquettes"; "coke" and "coke breeze with particle size less than 10 mm." In the database, the fuel inputs for coke and coke breeze are listed in sum as "coke," since the energy statistics list the aggregated fuel "coke." The "liquid fuels" listed for the BGS group are classified under "heating oil, heavy."

The BGS-group data list fuel inputs in natural units. For the present purpose, those units are converted into energy units, using the relevant net calorific values listed by the Working Group on Energy Balances (AGEB) for the various solid and liquid fuels. For gases, the BGS-group data

use a norm of 35.16912 MJ/m³. That figure has been adopted in the methods for calculating activity data for blast-furnace gas, coke-oven gas, natural gas and basic oxygen furnace gas.

The method for calculating emissions from secondary fuels has been retained, in keeping with the results of the research project "Einsatz von Sekunda rbrennstoffen" ("Inputs of secondary fuels"; Lechtenbo hmer et al. (2006c), FKZ 204 42 203/02).

In the area of emissions from the iron and steel industry, a distinction is made, for the entire time series as of 1990, between process-related emissions and energy-related emissions. The method for calculation of process-related emissions is described in Chapter 4.4.1.2 of category 2.C.1.

3.2.9.1.3 Uncertainties and time-series consistency (1.A.2.a)

Uncertainties were determined for all fuels in 2004 (except for substitute fuels), and for

substitute reducing agents, with regard to the entire time series. The method is explained in the research report Lechtenbo hmer et al. (2006c). The uncertainties for the activity data were updated in the research project "Substantiation of the data quality of activity data"

("Dokumentation der Datenqualita t von Aktivita tsraten" (FKZ 204 41 132) and included in the relevant final report.

The statistical data used for calculation until the 2011 report, from the Federal Statistical Öffice's Fachserie 4 Reihe 8.1, were aggregated in keeping with the BGS-group framework in those statistics. When production of those statistics has been discontinued, the basic BGS-group data will be used directly for calculation.

Direct use of the BGS-group data does not increase the uncertainties. The uncertainties as determined on the basis of the research report were retained, in keeping with the conservative approach applied.

3.2.9.1.4 Category-specific quality assurance / control and verification (1.A.2.a)

General and category specific quality control and a quality assurance have been carried out by category experts and the Single National Entity, in conformance with the requirements of the QSE-manual and its associated applicable documents.

For further information on quality assurance, cf. CRF 1.A.1.a (Chapter 3.2.6.4).

The aforementioned agreement with the steel-industry association calls for the association to carry out quality assurance for the BGS-group data in keeping with the QSE manual. The association's quality report is provided along with the data.

3.2.9.1.5 Category-specific recalculations (1.A.2.a)

Provisional figures for the year 2018 were replaced with figures from the now-available final Energy Balance for that year. An error correction for the year 2017 led to recalculations for the area of blast furnace gas.

Table 35: Recalculations in CRF 1.A.2.a

Units [kt] 2020 NIR 2021 NIR Difference, absolute Difference,

relative

Year Total Total gas liquid solid Total Total

2017 37,590 37,220 0 0 -370 -370 -0.98%

2018 36,534 37,167 -9 0 642 633 1.73%

3.2.9.1.6 Category-specific planned improvements (1.A.2.a) No further improvements are planned at present.

Chapter 10.4, Inventory Improvements (Table 496), presents an overview of the improvements that previous reports have listed in this chapter. Improvements that have been completed are listed in Table 495 in the same chapter.