US green steel market ambiguous; trajectory of US steelmaking murky
Published by:Alesha Alkaff<>
25 Jun 2025 @ 20:54 UTC

The US green steel market was quiet in the assessment period to Wednesday, June 25, with advocacy groups calling for the shift toward cleaner steelmaking operations in the US amid lofty promises to reline blast furnaces. Fastmarkets’ weekly green steel domestic differential to US HRC, fob mill was flat at $0 per short ton on Wednesday.
Fastmarkets’ domestic green steel base price, hot-rolled coil fob US mill stood at $894.50 per ton. The price is the average of the most recent US Midwest and South HRC prices plus the US green steel differential.
Fastmarkets’ carbon threshold is 0.7 tCO2e per 1 tonne of steel. Renewable energy credits and mass balancing can be used for carbon calculation, but carbon-offset credits are explicitly disallowed.
There’s a lot of uncertainty out there, an original equipment manufacturer told Fastmarkets, referring to market ambiguity fueled by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Some of these tariff discussions are hopefully entering the phase where things will finalize. The hope is before we get too deep into summer, some of these things will get resolved.
While incorporating green steel is a potential pathway to reduce the OEM’s carbon emissions levels, the OEM source said they are unsure if they are willing to pay more for the material.
The focus on green steel has subsided in recent months, with tariffs taking front and center stage, a green steel consultant said.
To decrease emissions in the steel industry, there is a need for profound and costly changes in steelmaking operations, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) steel outlook report in May.
One of the changes include the switching of fuels away from gas and coal, the report said.
Blast furnaces (BFs) in steel production rely on coal and emit higher volumes of carbon dioxide than electric arc furnaces (EAFs) which use electricity instead and thus produce lower levels of carbon.
In some countries like China, blast oxygen furnace production accounts for 90% or more of production, the report said. In the US, BFs account for 30% of steel production.
Despite the need to pivot away from coal-based steelmaking, some market participants and advocacy groups have been tracking Nippon Steel’s promise to either reline or repair four BFs at US Steel’s facility at Gary Works and two at Mon Valley Works as part of its acquisition of the integrated steelmaker.
The relining of the six BFs is expected to conclude by 2030 and has amassed an investment of at least $2.7 billion.
Nippon Steel has swallowed a poison pill by agreeing to reline six US Steel BFs reaching the end of their lives. It’s plan to cut emissions from its coal-based plants by partially reducing emissions will deliver too little, and come far too late to address climate risks, Roger Smith, the Asia Lead at Steel Watch, said in a press conference on Tuesday, June 24.
The finalization of the partnership is just the first step in an integration process that will take time to complete. There are still many things to be determined about how the two companies will come together, a US Steel spokesperson told Fastmarkets on Wednesday.
Environmental stewardship is a core value at US Steel, and we remain committed to the safety of our communities, as do our more than 3,000 Mon Valley Works employees, and more than 3,400 Gary Works employees, the spokesperson added.