UK steel industry urges embracing digital roadmap to achieve net zero target
A new study has developed a strategic digital roadmap to quickly track the UK steel industry’s net transition to clean, warning that it is crucial to overcome skills shortages, regulatory barriers and investment uncertainty if the sector is to meet its climate goals.
Developed by Warwick University scholars and supported by interactive programs, this project identified 12 key barriers to the adoption of Industrial Digital Technology (IDTS). These include everything from regulatory complexity to lack of skilled workers and financial pressures.
The study uses a seven-layer framework to map how these challenges are interconnected and ranked, and these challenges need to be prioritized by policy makers and industry leaders. The aim is to guide the steel industry (including 1,100 companies and contribute £2.3 billion to the UK economy) to achieve higher resource efficiency and sustainable production.
Although steel is endlessly recyclable, its output is high-energy, which accounts for a large part of global second-generation cooperation. This makes decarbonization an urgent priority both domestically and internationally.
“Our research provides targeted, actionable advice that empowers policy makers to focus with the greatest impact,” said Dr. Taofeeq Ibn-Mohammed, one of the authors of the study. “The strategic integration of policy reform, technological innovation, organizational change and smart economy programs is key to overcoming these obstacles and building a greener, more competitive steel industry.”
These findings have been proposed at the US iron technology conference Aistech, where they are welcomed by global industry stakeholders. Now, a practitioner report is preparing to provide practical guidance for UK companies.
“This is the first empirical analysis of causal relationships between such mapping IDT adoption barriers. Our insights will enable stakeholders to prioritize actions, share best practices, and push meaningful progress towards net zero,” said Dr. Aitana Uclés Fuensanta, principal investigator of the project.
The research is part of a broader interactive program funded through a smarter innovation program developed by the government. Interact brings together academics, manufacturers, policy makers and digital technology providers to study how new technologies can support sustainable change in the UK industry.
Professor Jill MacBryde, co-director of Strathclyde University Interaction, said: “The work done by the Warwick University team represents a crucial step towards a more sustainable future for the steel sector. This is a clear path by focusing on human, regulatory and operational issues and the technology itself.”
The methods developed in the research are also applied to other energy-intensive industries such as ceramics and glass, which help strengthen the UK’s role as a leader in industrial sustainability innovation.
