Speakers
Description
The building and construction industry is one of the largest consumers of resources and a significant contributor to waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Half of all steel production is used in construction, accounting for about 15% of GHG emissions (ca.) from the industry. Steel is also the primary material used in ships. Norway, with the world’s fifth largest fleet, is responsible for millions of tonnes of maritime steel to be decommissioned in the coming years. There is an on-going project in Norway to develop new circular business models aimed at upcycling maritime steel into steel products for the construction industry. Utilising upcycled steel from the maritime sector in buildings will allow for local repurposing of steel across various applications, potentially reducing costs, optimising resource use, and reducing GHG emissions. Norway has no local production of structural steel ¬ shipbuilding mainly takes place in East Asia (e.g., China), while ship recycling predominantly occurs in South Asia (e.g., India) and Turkey. Repurposing steel from decommissioned ships could provide a much needed resource to the Norwegian construction industry, while a successful project will help prove that this pathway could be replicated elsewhere, increasing the global acceptability of upcycled steel. However, repurposing steel faces several challenges, including the costly decommissioning process, testing and documentation requirements, contractual complexities, lack of supportive regulations or value chain, and market uncertainties in the supply of these products. In addition, even if the potential low carbon footprint of upcycled steel is considered a significant selling point, there is yet no supporting documentation (e.g., Environmental Product Declaration, EPD) to prove this. The aim of this paper is to present the status of upcycled steel reuse in Norway, and identify challenges and lessons learnt from pilot projects.
