Our Commitment to Energy Efficiency

Energy plays a large role in Cleveland-Cliffs’ operations, impacting both the financial and environmental costs of making steel. As a large energy consumer in one of the most energy-intensive industries, we are committed to developing energy efficiency innovations and partnerships within the steel industry.

Cleveland-Cliffs is proud to be an ENERGY STAR® Industrial Partner. Through this voluntary program, we are working with the U.S. EPA to strengthen our energy programs and energy efficiency in our operations. We are also a proud partner of the Better Plants program, working with the U.S. DOE to find ways to decarbonize our business and the domestic steel industry.

    

Burns Harbor Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Study — DOE-Funded Project

Burns Harbor Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Study — DOE-Funded Project

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded several innovative projects supporting industrial decarbonization research efforts, including a research project at our Burns Harbor, Indiana facility.

Through this project, the initial engineering design will be completed for a system to capture 50 to 70% of the CO2 emissions from the available blast furnace gas at Burns Harbor. The project aims to design a cost-competitive, technically viable, industrial-scale system capable of capturing up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year. The study will also examine available carbon sequestration opportunities. If successful, this study could help advance carbon reduction opportunities for the integrated steel industry.

Commitment to Fund Hydrogen Project at Toledo Direct Reduction Plant

Commitment to Fund Hydrogen Project at Toledo Direct Reduction Plant

To further reduce our GHG footprint at our new state-of-the-art Direct Reduction Plant, we have committed to partnering with hydrogen producers to evaluate the partial replacement of natural gas with hydrogen when it becomes commercially available in quantities sufficient to support our facility.

Without any modifications to the plant’s configuration, we could replace up to 30% of the plant’s natural gas consumption with hydrogen to reduce GHG emissions by approximately 450,000 metric tons per year. With additional equipment modifications and capital investments, we would be able to increase hydrogen usage up to 70% and reduce over 1 million metric tons of GHG emissions per year.

Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy

We purchase electricity for our operations in either regulated or deregulated markets. Some also use self-generated coke oven gas and/or blast furnace gas, an environmentally friendly practice reducing our need to purchase external electricity, reducing Scope 2 emissions. We monitor developments that could impact electricity availability or cost and adjust our supply strategy. While our products enable wind and solar capacity, including electrical steel grades necessary for an expanding grid, we also drive improvements through participation in renewable power offerings from regulated utilities. In 2021, we committed to participate in a supplier’s large customer voluntary green pricing program, which is expected to fulfill 35% of our Dearborn mill’s power needs with solar electricity. We understand that this supplier’s new solar facility will operation in late 2023. We target purchasing 2 million megawatt hours (“MWh”) of renewable energy annually (approximately 20% of Cliffs’ total purchased electricity for 2021), which will add to the power grid, complement our supply and further reduce our Scope 2 footprint.

Spotlight: Cogeneration

Many of our steel and coke production plants send byproduct blast furnace and coke oven gases to on-site power plants to recover heat and energy. Our Burns Harbor operation is currently executing a multi-year capital investment project to rebuild its powerhouse. The powerhouse is designed to use byproduct fuels from coke ovens and blast furnaces as primary fuels for producing steam and cogenerating electricity.

Once completed, the powerhouse is expected to provide the Burns Harbor operation with 75% of its total power requirements. This will result in significantly increased energy efficiency, reduced Scope 2 GHG emissions, and cost savings for the plant.