World Steel Association strategist talks about the impact of the pandemic on industry trends
The World Steel Association has announced the creation of an expert group to explore five identified key megatrends that will shape the global socio-economic landscape and value chain in the steel industry over the coming years and decades.
The increasing adoption of e-commerce and online services, online work and learning tools will support the development of new and improved technology tools and services, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of technological progress.
The increased awareness of the population of different countries about the impending environmental risks, caused, among other things, by the examples of the coronavirus, will almost certainly lead to increased public pressure on governments and businesses to mitigate such risks. They will increasingly be required to take the necessary adaptive measures to protect people (preparedness).
Bekir Chiftchi recalled that some countries are announcing "environmental recovery packages" that put support for renewable energy and decarbonization technologies at the center of their plans to recover from the pandemic.
Investments in energy efficiency, electrification and increased use of scrap, as well as efforts to develop revolutionary low-CO2 steelmaking technology, are likely to be accelerated.
In addition, the industry will need to step up efforts to provide steel solutions for zero-emission mobility, smart and green buildings, solutions for climate change adaptation projects and infrastructure upgrades.
The pandemic is likely to reinforce the efforts of the global steel industry to study the life cycle and circular economy characteristics of its products, with the aim of improving those characteristics and very strongly highlighting the superior properties of their products.