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BF-BOF vs EAF steelmaking routes
What it is
The two primary steelmaking routes. Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace reduces iron ore with coking coal and refines the hot metal with oxygen; Electric Arc Furnace melts scrap and DRI using electricity
BF-BOF gives consistent quality from virgin ore at very large scale; EAF is more flexible, lower capital and far less carbon-intensive, but depends on scrap availability and power cost
Impact on industries
- BF-BOF delivers the metallurgical control needed for automotive and high-end flat products, which scrap-based routes struggle to match on residual elements
- It is also the emissions problem - coal-based blast furnace steel produces some of the highest embedded emissions of any major producer, which is what CBAM now prices
- EAF and DRI offer the decarbonisation path, though India's scrap pool is too small to support a large shift - scrap follows the age of installed stock
- Route choice made today locks emissions intensity for decades, so capacity decisions in the current expansion cycle determine CBAM exposure in the 2030s