This report is commissioned to examine the global innovation, market & patenting
trends in the domain of Green Steel Making, in particular based on study of patent
filings after 2000 and secondary market study.
Earliest patent applications in Green Steel Making have been filed in 1990s but a
continuously rising patent activity in this domain started after 2000, with the highest
number of patent applications filed after 2014. Accordingly, this study was restricted
to patents filed after 2000. Looking at high number of filings happening in this domain
by enterprises of all sizes, universities, and researchers etc., it becomes much vital to
have a keen evaluation of the patenting activity to understand the innovation trends.
The initial research aims to give the readers a clear insight regarding the comparative
patenting activity among different players in the domain. A closer look at the patenting
activity demonstrates a constant rise in the filing specifically after 2014 wherein a
steep rise globally can be observed.
This motivated us to take a deeper dive and analyze critically the various techniques
for making green steel. Further, various patent filing trends have been also evaluated
while also revealing the major players in each category. A comparative analysis of R&D
strategy and portfolio strength for few major players have been also evaluated.
Finally, a few driving factors and challenges have been identified in the study. And few
prominent insights and recommendations have been identified that may help the active
players evaluate the scope of their innovation & opportunities of expansion in this
domain.
INTRODUCTION
Steel is the world’s most important engineering and construction material. It is used in
every aspect of our lives; in cars and construction products, refrigerators and washing
machines, cargo ships and surgical scalpels etc. It can be recycled over and over again
without loss of property. Steel has a commendable hardness and strength due to which it is contributing to the technological development in industrial sector.
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon containing less than 2% carbon and 1% manganese
and small amounts of silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, and oxygen. Steel is produced via
two main routes: the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route and electric
arc furnace (EAF) route. Variations and combinations of production routes also exist.
The key difference between the routes is the type of raw materials they consume. For
the BF-BOF route these are predominantly iron ore, coal, and recycled steel, while the
EAF route produces steel using mainly recycled steel and electricity. Depending on the plant configuration and availability of recycled steel, other sources of metallic iron
such as direct-reduced iron (DRI) or hot metal can also be used in the EAF route.
A total of around 70% of steel is produced using the BF-BOF route. First, iron ores are
reduced to iron, also called hot metal or pig iron. Then the iron is converted to steel in
the BOF. After casting and rolling, the steel is delivered as coil, plate, sections or bars.
Steel made in an EAF uses electricity to melt recycled steel. Additives, such as alloys,
are used to adjust to the desired chemical composition. Electrical energy can be
supplemented with oxygen injected into the EAF. Downstream process stages, such as
casting, reheating and rolling, are similar to those found in the BF-BOF route. About
30% of steel is produced via the EAF route. Another steelmaking technology, the open
hearth furnace (OHF), makes up about 0.4% of global steel production. The OHF
process is very energy-intensive and is in decline owing to its environmental and
economic disadvantages.
Despite being the core pillars of today’s society and providing one of the most
important engineering and construction materials, steel industry now needs to cope with pressure to reduce its carbon footprint from both environmental and economic
perspectives. The amount of CO2 emissions from steel manufacturing is almost double the amount of steel created: 1.85 tonnes of carbon per 1 tonne of steel.
In 2015, the global response to the threat of climate change took a step forward when
190 nations adopted the Paris Agreement. In 2019, the United Nations announced that
over 60 countries—including the United Kingdom and the European Union (with the
exception of Poland)—had committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, although the three
principal emitters China, India, and the United States were not among that number.
Moreover, some nations have pledged to work toward earlier dates. Together, these
agreements have led to growing pressure to pursue decarbonization across all
industrial sectors.
With global steel demand expected to rise to 2.5 billion tonnes per year by 2050, the
environmental burden is growing. Yet an analysis of the overall reduction in worldwide
carbon emissions needed to limit global warming to a maximum of 2 °C above
preindustrial levels—the goal of the 2015 Paris climate agreement—suggests that the
steel industry’s annual emissions must fall to about 500 million tonnes of CO2 by
2050. Achieving that target will require the industry to reduce its carbon intensity
from about 1.85 tonne of CO2 per metric ton of steel to just 0.2 tonne.
This study discusses innovation and market trends since year 2000 and anticipated
future market for green steel.
TECHNIQUES FOR MAKING GREEN STEEL
TECHNOLOGY PATENT FILING TRENDS
OVERALL APPLICATION, GRANT VELOCITY & ESTIMATED EXPIRY
OVERALL LEGAL EVENTS
GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF PATENTING ACTIVITIES
ACTIVE PLAYERS AND INNOVATORS
TOP 5 ASSIGNEES COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
TOP 5 ASSIGNEES COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
TOP 5 ASSIGNEES COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
TOP 5 ASSIGNEES COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
TOP 5 ASSIGNEES COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
GLOBAL STEEL MARKET
GREEN STEEL MARKET - DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES
RECENT COLLABORATIONS
INSIGHTS & CONCLUSION
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