As Vice President of SMS Group — one of the world’s foremost steel plant manufacturers — Peter Kinzel works with steelmakers across continents, giving him rare insight into how different regions are tackling the same urgent challenge: cleaning up one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.

In his appearance on The Green Steel Challenge, Kinzel describes a “step-wise” approach to decarbonizing the blast furnace route. Rather than tearing down existing plant to build anew — a costly undertaking that also depends on access to the right raw materials and renewable energy — steelmakers in India and China are already pursuing continuous, incremental improvements that compound over time. He also challenges the hydrogen consensus, arguing that green ammonia deserves serious attention given the yield losses inherent in green hydrogen production.

Perhaps most striking is his assessment of China: backed by strong government support, Chinese steelmakers are making meaningful progress at pace — and the rest of the world needs to keep up.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. The next episode features Dave Burritt, CEO of US Steel.

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First River’s new website is live — and it comes with something they’re especially excited about.

Introducing ScrAppie, an interactive scrap supply/demand prototype app, built to help steel industry professionals make faster, smarter decisions on scrap availability and sourcing.

Beyond ScrAppie, you’ll find a fully refreshed site with cleaner navigation, sharper content, and a ‘What’s my strategic challenge?’ matrix — a practical tool designed to help you find answers.

Explore it here: https://first-river.com

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While energy costs are a critical hurdle for decarbonizing steel production, a breakthrough solution may lie in advanced modular liquid lead reactors. On The Green Steel Challenge, Newcleo’s co-founder and CEO Stefano Buono explains how this technology could provide the lower-cost energy the industry needs.

Buono describes a process that consumes spent fuel rods, the waste of traditional nuclear energy production that is stored at great expense wherever nuclear power plants have operated. Beyond recycling this waste, the modular design allows for a significantly lower construction cost per MW and a rapid three-year project timeline.

Investors have already taken notice of this efficient approach, and Buono believes the first plant is will be operational by 2035.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. Peter Kinzel, Vice President SMS Group joins the next episode on April 7th.

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Worldsteel reported crude steel production in China at 76.1 million metric tonnes in February, 3.6% lower than in February, 2025. Chinese production in the first two months of 2026 was 5.8% lower than in the same period last year.

China’s net finished steel exports (exports minus imports) for January and February, 2026 were 14.8 million tonnes, 7.3% lower than in the same two months of 2025.

China monthly crude steel production

Thousand metric tonnes

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Worldsteel published February, 2026 world crude steel production today. World crude steel output was 141.8 million metric tonnes, 2.2% lower than in February, 2025.

China produced 76.1 million tonnes of crude steel in February, accounting for 54% of world output and declining 3.6% compared to February, 2025. Asian output outside of China rose 2.8% over the same period, while world production outside of China fell 0.5%.

Crude steel production in the European Union 27 countries fell 3.6% between February, 2025 and February, 2026 with German output +4.8%. Total North America production rose 0.5% while US production rose 5.8%. Other significant changes in the top ten world producing countries include an increase in India (+7.7%) and declines in Russia (estimated -10.2%) and Brazil (-5.7%).

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Is the global momentum toward green steel stalling? According to Rogério Nogueira, Executive Vice President at Vale — one of the world’s largest iron ore producers — the answer is a firm no. In the latest episode of The Green Steel Challenge, Nogueira makes a compelling case for why the decarbonization of steelmaking is not just inevitable, but already well underway.

Drawing on Vale’s unique position in the iron ore value chain, Nogueira outlines why the company is exceptionally placed to deliver an economically viable path to greener steel. The combination of high-grade iron ore, global scale, strategic geographic footprint, and partnerships with forward-thinking governments gives Vale a distinct edge — one it is channeling into a concrete strategy: Mega Hubs. Nogueira shares planned volumes, locations, and timelines for these Mega Hub facilities, alongside an explanation of how Vale’s iron ore briquettes are emerging as a key enabler of lower-emissions steelmaking.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. Stefano Buono, Co-Founder & CEO of Newcleo joins the next episode on March 24th.

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Worldsteel published January, 2026 world crude steel production today. World crude steel output was 147.3 million metric tonnes, 6.5% lower than in January, 2025.

China produced 75.3 million tonnes of crude steel in January, accounting for 51% of world output and declining 13.9% compared to January, 2025. Asian output outside of China rose 6.7% over the same period.

Crude steel production in the European Union 27 countries fell 2.3% between January, 2025 and January, 2026 with German output +15.0%. Total North America production fell 0.6% but US production rose 3.3%. Other significant changes in the top ten world producing countries include declines in Russia (estimated -7.4%) and increases in India (+10.5%), Iran (+15.1%) and Turkey (+5.8%).

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Decarbonization in the steel industry has hit some headwinds, with momentum slowing across key markets as economic pressures and competing priorities take their toll. John Lichtenstein, Managing Partner at World Steel Dynamics, draws on his extensive work with leading steel producers and associations around the world to give us an honest assessment of where things actually stand — and why the picture looks very different depending on which region you’re looking at.

A significant part of the conversation zeroes in on scrap, the material at the heart of steel’s green transition. As the industry shifts toward electric arc furnace steelmaking, scrap availability and quality become critical constraints. John explains the growing pressures on scrap supply chains and tackles one of the most underappreciated technical challenges in the field: copper contamination — why it’s so important and what improving copper removal rates will mean for the future of the industry.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. Rogério Nogueira, Executive Vice-President, Commercial & Development at Vale joins the next episode on March 10th.

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While green hydrogen production costs remain a barrier to widespread adoption for steelmaking, naturally occurring hydrogen extraction may offer a commercially viable alternative. On the latest episode of The Green Steel Challenge, Koloma‘s Pete Johnson articulates the economic fundamentals driving Koloma’s natural hydrogen strategy—and explains why the company has attracted strategic investors including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, and United Airlines.

It’s a superbly interesting episode with clear explanations about key issues such as how much natural hydrogen is likely to be stored in the earth, how natural hydrogen’s storage and extraction is different from natural gas, and why it should be a superior energy source for steelmaking compared to wind and solar.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. John Lichtenstein, Managing Partner at World Steel Dynamics joins the next episode on February 24th.

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With steel plants spanning India, Thailand, the UK, and the Netherlands, Tata Steel has a unique vantage point on what it takes to run efficient, profitable operations across vastly different markets.

In the latest episode of The Green Steel Challenge (released yesterday), CEO TV Narendran dives into how these geographical differences shape the company’s decarbonization strategy. Europe’s stringent regulations are creating a global ripple effect: decarbonization technologies are now essential to running a competitive steel company, no matter where you operate.

About The Green Steel Challenge: Produced by the Korf Foundation and Kallanish Commodities, the podcast delivers practical insights on steelmaking decarbonization from industry leaders making it happen. Pete Johnson from Kaloma joins the next episode on February 10th to discuss the potential of naturally occurring hydrogen.

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