BHP Group yesterday lifted its long-term demand forecast for steel, saying installing green power generation will boost the need for the alloy.
In its Steel and Iron Ore Outlook, the group said steel was the building block of a better world.
The miner said the increasing demand for wind and solar farm equipment is set to boost steel demand by 2% in 2030, and by 4% in 2050.
“We estimate a modest uplift in our base case for steel demand in both 2030 and 2050 from the net impact of four forces: infrastructure of decarbonisation, decline of fossil energy demand, higher capital stock turnover and slower economic growth due to the physical climate impacts and carbon policies,” it said.
The group said it expected global steel output to rise by 42 million tons and 76 million tons in 2030 and 2050, respectively, with a sizeable amount due to demand for solar and wind power equipment.
BHP said steel consumption in power will triple, with rising demand from wind and solar power projects.
“Renewable power tends to require more steel compared to fossil fuels,” it said.
BHP said the iron ore range was resilient but notably lower than steel. Alternative metallics will compete with primary ore in coming decades, it said.
Source Article: IOL
