Nucor launches line of net-zero carbon steel with General Motors as first customer

Nucor introduces its Econiq line of net-zero steel as the industry rushes to decarbonize its products to remain competitive for major steel customers like the automotive and construction industries.

By John Downey – Senior Staff Writer, Charlotte Business Journal
a day ago


Nucor Corp. has launched a line of net-zero carbon steel products, and General Motors Co. will be the inaugural customer, receiving its first shipment in early 2022.

Steel companies internationally have been in the race to produce green steel products to help large customers meet their own carbon reduction goals. Nucor (NYSE: NUE) says its new line, branded Econiq, is the first of its kind at scale for the U.S. steel industry. It will be available across all of Nucor's product lines.

“For more than 50 years, Nucor has been built on a sustainable model of recycling steel to produce new steel and steel products,” says CEO Leon Topalian. “The addition of Econiq is a logical extension to our innovation legacy in the steel industry.”

Shilpan Amin, vice president of global purchasing for General Motors (NYSE: GM), praises Nucor’s plan in a prepared statement.

“It brings GM one step closer to its vision of a zero emissions future," he says. "General Motors is excited to be Nucor's first customer for Econiq as we work to integrate sustainability into all aspects of our supply chain."

Competitive race

Topalian has been touting Nucor’s push into cleaner steel since he became CEO in 2020. The company has pushed to become a bigger supplier to green energy projects — racking for solar and towers for wind. But it has also sought to reduce its own carbon footprint and make products that reduce vendor carbon emissions — called Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions — for its major customers.

Charlotte-based Nucor is not alone in this race for a top position in clean steel. In July, Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA (NYSE: MT) announced a $1.2 billion investment in Gijon, Spain, to build what it says is the first large-scale zero carbon production plant. It will produce 1.6 million tons of carbon-free steel a year, the company says, and is slated to begin production in 2025.

Nucor steel production is already very low in carbon and other greenhouse gases because of its use of electric arc furnaces, rather than coal blast furnaces, high efficiency and specific steps the company has taken to further reduce carbon.

But it does not operate a zero-carbon plant. The Econiq net-zero steel will be produced using Nucor’s existing low-carbon steel and “100% renewable electricity and high-quality carbon offsets” to negate the carbon used in in procession.
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions

Topalian has stressed repeatedly that green steel is a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Today, Nucor produces steel with 70% lower concentration of carbon and greenhouse gases than the steel industry average. In July, as Arcelor made its plant announcement, Nucor said it would cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 77% of today’s global average.

And it’s working to go beyond that, Topalian told analysts last month as he announced a $2.7 billion investment in a sheet steel plant to produce low-carbon steel for the automotive industry.

“In January, we put together an environmental technical process team to evaluate all the different (decarbonization) technologies are that are out there,” he said. “We believe that there are several million more tons (of industry capacity) that … may become obsolete in the coming years due to cost position in carbon intensity.”

The race to decarbonize the steel industry comes amid major expansions at Nucor, like the sheet plant announced in September, to cement its leadership in the market and in targeted products and technologies.

Last week, a subsidiary of Nucor’s David J. Jones Co. scrap metal operations announced the purchase of two companies at an undisclosed price to boost the supply chain for plant expansions and new construction in the Midwest. Nucor converts scrap steel and iron into its steel products in its electric arc furnaces.