Tenaris S A : Committed to greener steel production for the energy industry

PUBLISHED ON 02/02/2021

Tenaris continues to seek ways to reduce its environmental footprint through the use of new technologies and optimized processes as part of its commitment to sustainable steel production.

Reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement poses a huge challenge that demands the collaboration of the entire value chain of our industry. Tenaris is aware of its role as an industrial leader in this challenge and is committed to contribute to new products that help to lower overall energy emissions and to further reduce the emissions from its own processes.

The sourcing of steel products is one of the decisions an oil and gas company takes that has an impact on the emissions of an overall project. Tenaris already offers products with a relatively low level of emissions since the technology we use for steel production is mainly based on melting recycled scrap in electric arc furnaces.

Over the past years, Tenaris has reduced its emissions intensity principally through the introduction of the most energy-efficient technologies in its new facilities, energy efficiency initiatives in its older facilities and investing to securing energy from highly efficient combined cycle power plants.

In Mexico, a state-of-the-art combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant began operations in 2017, with a lower emissions factor than the national system, and is supplying 95% of the electricity needs of Tenaris's seamless mill in Veracruz.

The Bay City, TX, seamless pipe mill in the US was designed to achieve stringent environmental performance standards in terms of nitrogen oxide air emissions, particulate materials, volatile organic compounds and also CO2 emissions. It is the first seamless pipe mill in the country to be classified as a minor source of emissions by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Located in Texas, this facility uses natural gas as its sole fuel, sources water from existing wells and is actively seeking LEED certification, a green building certification programme recognised worldwide.

Tenaris is now looking to accelerate the reduction of its CO2 emissions intensity through a wider range of alternatives and projects.

'Dalmine Zero Emissions' is one of the new initiatives the company is evaluating and aims to become the first application of green hydrogen on an industrial scale in Italy's steel sector. For this, Tenaris has partnered with energy companies Edison and Snam to work together in the decarbonisation of Dalmine, Tenaris's seamless pipe mill in Bergamo. The project involves generating green hydrogen and oxygen through a 20 MW electrolyser to replace natural gas in the steelmaking process.

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