Steel from blast furnaces is the underpinning of our civilization. Steel from hydrogen-powered electrolysis is far too costly to replace it

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

History is written in metal. The Stone Age ended not because we ran out of stone but because we learned to smelt copper and tin. The Bronze Age gave us cities, writing and empires. When tin supplies faltered, the Iron Age arrived, democratizing metallurgy because iron ore is buried virtually everywhere.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

From the bloomeries of ancient India that produced legendary Wootz steel to Henry Bessemer’s 1856 converter that slashed real steel prices by more than 80 per cent, every great leap in living standards has rested on cheaper, stronger, more abundant iron and steel.

Today, steel is the skeleton of modernity: bridges, towers, cars, ships, wind turbines, hospitals and the rebar holding up every concrete structure, including the apartments and condos so many of us live in. Around the world, the blast furnace, powered by a narrow band of high-quality metallurgical coal, produces roughly 1.4 billion tonnes of iron metal per year. It is the most energy-dense, capital-efficient way humans have ever discovered to turn........

© Financial Post