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You're ignoring the current price of fuel. For context, in 2019 the cost of coke was $143 per ton of steel produced. Also it takes about 1.6 tons of iron ore pe
by jjk166 5y ago
You're ignoring the current price of fuel. For context, in 2019 the cost of coke was $143 per ton of steel produced. Also it takes about 1.6 tons of iron ore per ton of steel, so that's currently about $320 in iron ore costs. Combined, that means 3.5 kwh/kg is roughly 12% more expensive raw material-wise than the current process. So it's an increase, but a drop in the bucket compared to the 200% increase in cost that happened over the past year; in fact its smaller than any YOY price change since 2015. Assuming it is phased in over the course of a few years, we likely wouldn't even notice the price increase.
- Gibbon1 5y agoWhat tantalizing to me is solar and wind are unique in that the marginal cost of production is near zero. Meaning very unlike coal and natural gas energy sources. That leads to a energy grid characterized by frequent over supply. My thinking is electrowinning iron and mini-mills could easily absorb excess capacity. Aqueous electrolytic cells should be able to just sit idle for hours to days. And electric furnaces draw easily 10-100MW. That makes them a good match for a renewable grid.