Nucor's Decarbonisation Efforts Star in Climate Week NYC Doc

Nucor, the largest steel producer in North America, manufactures roughly a quarter of the country’s raw steel. Additionally, it holds the title of the largest recycler in the western hemisphere, showcasing a commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

This steel giant relies on electric arc furnaces, a process that uses scrap metal as its primary input. This means that Nucor’s largest expenses are raw materials and the energy required to recycle them. In many regions where Nucor operates, it is often the largest customer for local utilities.

As the company continues to decarbonise its operations, Nucor strives to lead by example. With more than 32,000 employees spread across more than 300 locations, Nucor has been using electric arc furnaces for 60 years, a method that results in a third of the carbon emissions compared to traditional blast furnace steelmaking.

“If we can find ways to reduce and find better sources for clean energy and accelerate that transition, we not only directly benefit, but all of our customers who need cleaner steel or energy do as well,” Nucor’s General Manager of Energy Solutions Service Tabitha Stine said in an exclusive interview with sister title Energy Digital.

Tabitha is featured in a new documentary, Women of Carbon, premiering at Climate Week NYC on 24 September. The film spotlights women leading the charge in carbon reduction across industries.

She added: “What we find is all of our industrial partners that are in the realm of construction or building or scaling, they all need steel and they all need energy. And guess what? We also need energy. So how do we help our customers? 

“That’s the driver and appetite that really I think started the momentum of decarbonising and is now accelerating it so we can support our communities and customers more broadly."

Spotlight on Women of Carbon at Climate Week NYC

A key theme in Women of Carbon is the significant role women are playing in decarbonisation efforts.

“At a Women in Steel conference in Pittsburgh, I heard one of the keynotes say to us that we are sitting in a role that’s either a brand new or never been a seat held by a female before,” she shared. “The weight, the gravity, the opportunity that we all have to execute and also show by example — the people that are coming behind you — is deafening.

“The responsibility is there. There are so many pockets of opportunities in the built environment. This documentary is really an opportunity to highlight so many different layers and levels of what the construction and built world will look like in the future through the lens of decarbonisation — what’s happening at a grassroots level with universities and students all the way to what’s happening at industrial scale. 

“As a mother, it really, really matters to me that my children have a world that I left them in better hands than the way it was handed to me. The urgency of that I think has never been more apparent than it is right now. We’re coming up to a future energy challenge that none of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes. 

The documentary provides an opportunity to explore various facets of decarbonisation, from grassroots university projects to industrial-scale initiatives. Tabitha also emphasised the personal urgency of this work.

Participation in the documentary was deeply personal for Tabitha. In addition to being a structural engineer and steel designer, she’s a mother of three, including a daughter who is a college freshman majoring in environmental science and sustainability.

“There weren't even opportunities to major in sustainability when I went to college,” Tabitha exclaimed.

“My daughter directly feels the urgency more than I think we do. She’s getting ready to step into this situation, a mess. What’s her job? What’s her generation’s job? To see the excitement and the responsibility in kids to actually roll up their sleeves is super inspiring. 

“For me, this whole thing has come full circle. On a professional and personal level, I'm super excited about this documentary.”

Partnerships power Nucor’s decarbonisation

As one of the largest energy consumers in the steel industry, Nucor understands the importance of partnerships in advancing clean energy technologies.

The company is actively working with tech giants like Google and Microsoft to accelerate the development of innovations such as long-duration battery storage, advanced geothermal energy, and fusion power.

Nucor is also collaborating with ExxonMobil to develop carbon sequestration technologies at its Louisiana facility. These efforts reflect the company’s forward-thinking approach to both energy use and sustainability.

“Working with Google and Microsoft is a perfect example of non-traditional partners of a steel company,” Tabitha explained. “While we're a steel company, we also think of ourselves as a progressive company. 

“What we’ve found is that the partners that we’re working with today are usually big data companies. Longstanding partners have been the big automotive companies, but they need battery companies to succeed. They need data to succeed. Everything keeps coming back to data and energy. 

“In this commitment, it's first-of-a-kind technology. We’ve all been using solar and wind in a variety of ways, either at our facilities or in PPAs, but the amount of energy that it takes to power a steel mill — doing business and powering a steel mill in the middle of the night when the wind is off and the sun is down — means we can’t just do it with that with clean, renewable energy.”

One of the key solutions Nucor is exploring is long-duration battery storage (LDBS), which can store renewable energy to keep its steel mills running even when the sun and wind aren’t available.

Tabitha added: “Nucor, Google and Microsoft — all three of us getting together has been a remarkable partnership learning exercise.

“We’re kind of a junkyard gang. You wouldn't expect to see us all together hanging out. But we all are big companies with huge appetites for energy, all growth companies.

“So why not work together? Why work alone? It’s been a really exciting journey.”

Read more insights from Tabitha and Nucor in the January edition of ClimateTech Digital.

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