Code: Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Raw Steel Production Plants in the U.S.

In this study, we evaluate lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions for each U.S. steel production plant in 2022, accounting for uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity in ironmaking and steelmaking technologies, supply chain network dynamics, and material, fuel, and electricity supply. Lifecycle emissions associated with the production of U.S. steel are 109 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions (mmt CO2e), with 83 mmt emitted domestically. The largest emission source is on-site combustion and processing at steel production plants (41% of total emissions), followed off-site electricity generation to support steel plant operations (16%) and raw material plant operations (12%). There is significant heterogeneity in plant-level lifecycle emission factors ranging from 0.2 to 4.3 mt CO2e per mt raw steel produced across plants. Across steel production pathways, basic oxygen furnace (BOF) and electric arc furnace (EAF) plants have production-weighted average emission factors of 2.6 and 0.8 mt CO2e per mt raw steel produced, respectively. Emission factors also vary across geographies and firms due to differences in supply chains and production technologies. The data insights from this study are important for assessing climate mitigation pathways, investment decisions, and policies.

The following includes descriptions of data, code, and functions used for data analyses and visualizations for the paper titled, "Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Raw Steel Production Plants in the U.S."