Between now and 2050, the world’s population will increase by 2 billion people to over 9.5 billion and the share of the population living in cities will increase by 10 percentage points to 68%. These demographic megatrends will continue to underpin the buildings and infrastructure sector and steel demand.
Given these megatrends and the support this will require from construction, it is essential to keep in mind that today the operation of buildings accounts for 28% of global CO2 emission.[1].
These emissions must be significantly reduced as buildings become net zero operational carbon by 2050.
Steel’s role is at the core of the transition to net zero energy buildings.
Here are four reasons why steel has its place in the transition toward net zero:
- Energy Efficiency – steel’s role in energy efficiency is its ability to harness and transfer renewable energy. Examples include the steel mountings of roof solar panels, roof- integrated solar heat collectors and geothermal energy piles.
- Thermal mass – steel can quickly store/release heat when needed. For example, phase change materials (PCMs) can be used in floors, walls or ceilings to capture and store thermal energy, enabling a constant room temperature with less energy demand.
- Airtightness – steel sandwich panels and windows contribute to maintaining a building’s airtightness, thereby reducing heat losses and contributing to energy savings.
- Sustainability – steel’s ability to be pre-fabricated in specific dimensions or modules in a factory means that components are made available on-site when needed. The ability for steel to be designed for deconstruction and alternative use implies that the potential to create new future steel is less of a necessity. Being non-organic, steel’s ability to be recycled again and again without loss of quality means there will in the future be less demand for virgin raw materials.
constructsteel – worldsteel’s steel construction market development programme aims to disseminate these benefits and engage with stakeholders in the construction industry. POSCO’s INNOVILT and ArcelorMittal’s Steligence construction programmes are two good examples of how our members are spreading the positive message across to our stakeholders.
We are confident that steel has a role to play in making buildings net zero operational carbon by 2050. Please consult constructsteel.org for regular updates of constructsteel. I look forward to your comments.
______________________________________
[1] Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions: 28% from operational emissions, from energy needed to heat, cool and power them, and the remaining 11% from materials and construction. (https://www.worldgbc.org/embodied-carbon)