Europe's Carbon Border Tax Could Reshape Canadian Steel as Algoma Bets on Electric Arc Furnaces

BHP has reaffirmed its commitment to lower-emission steelmaking, reporting progress across industrial trials and technology partnerships even as global steel decarbonisation investment faces mounting economic pressure. The miner said it is working with 13 of the world's largest steelmakers, which accounted for a quarter of global steel output in 2025, to test technologies that cut emissions from existing operations and support near-zero emission steelmaking. Announced investment and funding commitments in steel decarbonisation totalled about 24 billion USD in the 12 months to April 2026. However, BHP said high capital costs, limited access to competitively priced energy and hydrogen, and weak demand for lower-emission steel are squeezing project economics, making the pace of decarbonisation more measured. Under its expanded partnership with POSCO, trials using BHP iron ores are planned for 2028 at POSCO's 300,000-tonne HyREX hydrogen-based ironmaking plant in Pohang, South Korea. In Australia, design work is complete for the NeoSmelt demonstration-scale direct reduced iron and electric smelting furnace project at Kwinana, Perth, involving AMB Holdings, BHP, BlueScope, Mitsui Iron Ore Development, Rio Tinto and Woodside, with commissioning expected in 2029 subject to a final investment decision. More than 100 electric smelting furnace tests since 2022 have produced over two tonnes of hot metal using Pilbara ore. Hydrogen-rich gas injection trials at China's Zenith Steel have achieved a 2-3% emissions cut, while carbon capture testing with ArcelorMittal and HBIS showed operating time and CO2 capture rates above 90%.

Speaking at the opening session of the 19th Arab Steel Summit in Cairo, Egyptian Minister of Industry Khaled Hashem said Egypt places high priority on developing its iron and steel industry and improving its competitiveness, describing the sector as a key pillar for building an integrated industrial base and supporting sustainable economic growth. He noted the summit convenes as the global steel industry undergoes rapid change driven by shifts in international trade patterns and by challenges in energy and production input availability, making closer joint efforts essential to build a more competitive and sustainable Arab steel industry through stronger research support and industrial integration. Hashem said steel is a major development driver given its close links to construction, infrastructure, engineering industries and the automotive sector. The ministry is pressing ahead with an updated strategy to localise manufacturing, raise added value and boost exports, focused on integrating successive production stages, encouraging new investment and widening the adoption of modern technologies for sustainable output. He also flagged opportunities offered by Arab resources and promising markets for joint investment, regional supply chain development and technology transfer, and reaffirmed continued cooperation with the Arab Iron and Steel Union. An accompanying international iron and steel exhibition opened alongside the summit with wide participation from Arab companies and institutions.

Twenty-six members of the European Parliament have warned the European Commission that safeguards on electrical-steel imports are raising costs and weakening the competitiveness of EU transformer manufacturers. In a letter, the lawmakers said insufficient domestic supply leaves producers dependent on imports, while the measures favour finished transformers from countries including China. They urged the Commission either to withdraw the provisional safeguards and close the investigation, or to adjust the measures so that EU manufacturers are protected. The intervention highlights a policy conflict between steel trade remedies and downstream electrical-equipment production.