Green Steel: A Strategic Opportunity with Financial Constraints
According to the Atradius 2025 Report, demand for “green steel” is rising, but poses serious financial challenges. Investments in electric arc furnaces and renewable energy supply chains are necessary but costly, especially for SMEs. All this is happening in a context of global overcapacity, cost inflation, and stiff price competition from low-carbon producers.
OECD: Rising Capacity, Sluggish Demand
The OECD projects a 6.7% increase in global steel production capacity by 2027, with utilization rates possibly dropping to 70%. Growth in demand in OECD countries will remain weak (<1% per year), increasing pressure on European producers to innovate and decarbonize quickly.
Trade Policy Dynamics and Strategic Support Measures
In the U.S., 25% steel import duties are protecting domestic production but are penalizing European and Canadian exporters. Meanwhile, the EU is betting on CBAM and “friend-shoring” policies to encourage regional relocation and competitiveness.
Key Trends in Industry and Investment to Watch
- Energy transition: Reskilling in renewable energy and energy efficiencyEnergy efficiencyThe ability to deliver the same level of service or production while using less energy, particularly through improvements in equipment, processes or operational control. is rising.
- Predictive maintenance: AI-powered solutions and sensor technologies are scaling up to reduce downtime and improve performance.
- Scrap-based EAF strategy: Electric arc furnaces and circular economyCircular economyA model aimed at keeping the value of products, equipment, materials and resources in use for as long as possible through durability, maintenance, repair, reuse and recycling. models are gaining ground — boosting resilience and autonomy in steel production.
Why This Matters for Matissart
- These developments emphasize the need to align R&D, ESGESGAcronym for Environmental, Social and Governance criteria used to assess how an organisation addresses sustainability issues. and energy strategies to maintain competitiveness.
- They underline the growing demand for high-skilled industrial jobs in design, machining, maintenance and quality control.
- They call for early investments in Industry 4.0 infrastructure: digitization, integrated data platforms…