Industrial infrastructure • CBAM scope
Global Iron & Steel Plants
Operating, under-construction, and announced iron and steel production facilities worldwide. Iron and steel is the largest CBAM product category by EU import volume and the most carbon-intensive heavy industry after cement.
Source: Global Energy Monitor — Global Iron and Steel Plant Tracker, CC BY 4.0. Cross-referenced with World Steel Association and IEA Iron and Steel Technology Roadmap.
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CBAM exposure
From 2026, EU importers of iron and steel must surrender CBAM certificates priced at the weekly ETS auction rate for every tonne of embedded CO₂. A typical blast furnace integrated mill emits ~1.8-2.2 tCO₂ per tonne of crude steel. At an EUA price of €65-75/t, that adds €120-165 per tonne of imported steel before free allocation phase-out completes in 2034.
Every dot on this map represents a facility whose exports to the EU will carry a carbon cost. The process type (BF-BOF vs DRI-EAF) determines the emission intensity, and therefore the CBAM cost per tonne. Countries that rely on blast furnace steelmaking face the highest per-unit exposure.
Green steel frontrunners
The map shows current operating process, not committed transitions. Several major steelmakers have firm plans to switch from blast furnace to hydrogen-based DRI. These projects will change the map's colour within this decade.
SSAB / HYBRIT (Sweden, Finland)
The most advanced green steel project globally. HYBRIT (a joint venture of SSAB, LKAB, and Vattenfall) has produced fossil-free steel at pilot scale using hydrogen DRI since 2021, and delivered commercial trial batches to Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. SSAB plans to convert Luleå (2.3M t/yr) and Oxelösund (1.5M t/yr) in Sweden to hydrogen DRI-EAF by 2030, and Raahe in Finland (2.6M t/yr) by the mid-2030s. Combined, this is 6.4M t/yr of steelmaking capacity that will shift from BF to near-zero emissions. These plants currently show as BF (amber) on the map.
ArcelorMittal Hamburg (Germany)
ArcelorMittal is building a 2.5M t/yr DRI plant in Hamburg, supplied with hydrogen from a dedicated electrolyser and paired with an existing EAF. Commissioning is expected by 2026. This is one of the first commercial-scale green steel investments outside the Nordic region. ArcelorMittal has also announced DRI projects in Gijón (Spain) and Dunkirk (France), though these are at earlier stages.
Salzgitter SALCOS (Germany)
Salzgitter's SALCOS programme is converting its integrated steelworks to hydrogen DRI-EAF in three phases. The first DRI shaft furnace (1.9M t/yr) is under construction with commissioning planned for 2025-2026, powered by wind-generated hydrogen. When complete, SALCOS will reduce Salzgitter's CO₂ emissions by over 95%.
H2 Green Steel (Sweden)
A greenfield hydrogen DRI-EAF plant under construction in Boden, northern Sweden. Planned capacity of 2.5M t/yr with first steel expected in 2026. Unlike the brownfield conversions above, H2 Green Steel is purpose-built for green hydrogen from the start, using Boden's proximity to cheap hydropower and wind. The company has already signed offtake agreements with automotive and appliance manufacturers.
Sources: SSAB corporate disclosures; HYBRIT project updates (ssab.com); ArcelorMittal climate action report 2024; Salzgitter SALCOS project page; H2 Green Steel corporate announcements. Capacity figures are company-stated targets, not yet reflected in GEM tracker process classifications.
EU steel import exposure
The EU imports roughly 30 million tonnes of steel products annually. These are the key origin countries and their CBAM implications.
Turkey
The EU's largest steel supplier by volume. Turkish mills are a mix of EAF (scrap-based, lower emissions) and BF-BOF. EAF steelmaking from scrap emits roughly 0.4-0.6 tCO₂/t, giving Turkey a structural CBAM advantage over BF-dominant exporters. However, Turkey's electricity grid is ~40% coal-fired, which inflates indirect emissions. Turkey has pushed back against CBAM and explored retaliatory trade measures.
India
The world's second-largest steel producer and a growing EU supplier. India's steel sector is predominantly BF-BOF with emission intensities of 2.0-2.5 tCO₂/t, among the highest globally due to older plant technology and coal-heavy energy mix. Indian steel exports to the EU face the steepest per-tonne CBAM cost. India has formally objected to CBAM at the WTO, calling it a unilateral trade barrier.
South Korea
POSCO and Hyundai Steel are major EU suppliers of high-grade flat products. South Korea operates a domestic ETS (K-ETS) which may partially offset CBAM costs if the EU recognises equivalent carbon pricing. However, K-ETS prices have been significantly lower than EU ETS, limiting the offset. POSCO is investing in hydrogen-based DRI (HyREX) but commercial scale is not expected before 2030.
China
The world's dominant steel producer (over 1 billion tonnes/year, ~54% of global output) but not a top-5 EU steel supplier due to existing anti-dumping duties. Nearly all Chinese capacity is BF-BOF. China's national ETS covers power generation but not yet steel. If Chinese steel were exported to the EU at scale, CBAM costs would be among the highest at ~€140-170 per tonne at current EUA prices.
Ukraine and Russia
Both were historically significant EU steel suppliers. Russian steel has been largely cut off by sanctions since 2022. Ukrainian steel exports have been severely disrupted by the war, with major plants (Azovstal, Illich Steel in Mariupol) destroyed or occupied. Pre-war, both countries relied on BF-BOF with high emission intensities. Ukraine's post-war reconstruction may present an opportunity for greenfield DRI-EAF capacity if financing materialises.
Data sources and methodology
Plant data
Global Energy Monitor Global Iron and Steel Plant Tracker (CC BY 4.0). Covers operating, under construction, and announced facilities.
Carbon intensity references
BF-BOF emission intensity (~1.8-2.2 tCO₂/t): IEA Iron and Steel Technology Roadmap (2020).
DRI-EAF emission intensity (~0.6-1.4 tCO₂/t): World Steel Association sustainability indicators.
Green hydrogen DRI (<0.4 tCO₂/t): HYBRIT project data (SSAB/LKAB/Vattenfall).
CBAM and trade
CBAM regulation: Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
EU steel imports (~30 Mt/yr): Eurostat COMEXT, HS chapter 72-73.
K-ETS pricing: ICAP.