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Scrap-based electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking has lower reported emissions and energy use per tonne of crude steel than the conventional blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) route. But that does not make every EAF route equally low-emissions, prove it is always cheaper, or show that an individual EAF produces more steel than an individual blast furnace. EAFs can melt scrap or refine iron made from ore; those are different routes with different inputs and impacts. The clearest comparison is therefore BF-BOF vs. scrap-EAF vs. direct-reduced-iron EAF (DRI-EAF), with costs and output judged separately.
What the furnace names leave out
A blast furnace is part of an integrated route: iron ore and metallurgical coal are used to make hot metal, which is then refined in a basic oxygen furnace (BOF). An EAF melts and refines metallic inputs using electricity. Those inputs may be recycled steel, direct-reduced iron (DRI), hot metal, or a mix, so “EAF” alone does not identify the feedstock or the full production route.
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BF-BOF: ore, coal, and hot metal
In the BF-BOF route, coke made from metallurgical coal supplies heat and acts as a reducing agent in the blast furnace. The resulting hot metal is refined in a BOF. World Steel Association (worldsteel) representative inputs for 1,000 kg of crude steel are 1,370 kg iron ore, 780 kg metallurgical coal, 270 kg limestone, and 125 kg recycled steel. These are route-level illustrative figures, not a recipe for every plant. worldsteel’s raw-materials overview describes the routes and their inputs.
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Scrap-EAF: recycled steel and electricity
A scrap-EAF route primarily remelts recycled steel using electricity. For 1,000 kg of crude steel, worldsteel’s representative recycled-steel EAF input figures include 710 kg recycled steel, 586 kg iron ore, 150 kg coal, 88 kg limestone, and 2.3 GJ of electricity. The listed iron ore and other inputs are a reminder that the representative route is not necessarily a 100%-scrap charge; actual metallic mixes vary.
DRI-EAF: ore reduced before melting
DRI-EAF begins with iron ore reduced in a direct-reduction furnace, commonly using natural gas. The resulting DRI is then refined in an EAF, often alongside scrap. Because this route still includes making iron from ore, its emissions and energy use should not be treated as equivalent to scrap-EAF.
Emissions: scrap-EAF is lowest in the reported route averages
worldsteel’s 2024 Sustainability Indicators report gives the following 2023 route intensities, measured in tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of crude steel cast. These are global route averages calculated under worldsteel’s methodology, not guaranteed results for a particular mill. The DRI-based EAF route has been included in worldsteel’s global average since 2021; its production denominator is estimated because global crude steel output using DRI is not currently collected.
Rank #2
| Route | 2023 CO₂ per tonne of crude steel cast | 2023 energy use per tonne of crude steel cast |
|---|---|---|
| BF-BOF | 2.32 tonnes CO₂ | 24.20 GJ |
| Scrap-EAF | 0.70 tonnes CO₂ | 10.24 GJ |
| DRI-EAF | 1.43 tonnes CO₂ | 23.13 GJ |
On those 2023 averages, scrap-EAF has the lowest reported intensity. DRI-EAF sits between scrap-EAF and BF-BOF for both measures, rather than matching the scrap route. The emissions gap largely reflects the work of producing iron from ore, according to worldsteel. Electricity generation, the ore-reduction method, metallic charge, and the reporting boundary also affect a plant’s result. See worldsteel’s 2024 Sustainability Indicators report for its route-specific figures and methodology.
These route figures are CO₂ per tonne of crude steel cast; they should not be combined as if they were the same measure as worldsteel’s separate sector-wide 2024 estimate. That estimate is 2.18 tonnes of CO₂e per tonne of steel across scopes 1, 2, and 3, based on 1,886 million tonnes of steel produced. Worldsteel estimates total sector emissions at about 4.1 billion tonnes CO₂e in 2024, with 75% direct emissions. The product, year, and emissions boundary differ from the route table. worldsteel’s climate and iron-and-steel production page explains the sector-wide figures.
Energy: scrap-EAF uses less, but energy is not the same as cost
The 2023 worldsteel figures in the table put scrap-EAF at 10.24 GJ per tonne of crude steel cast, compared with 24.20 GJ for BF-BOF. DRI-EAF is at 23.13 GJ: close to BF-BOF in this measure, and well above scrap-EAF. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) separately characterizes making steel by remelting scrap in an EAF as using less than half the energy of producing steel from iron ore via BF-BOF. That is DOE’s characterization, not an additional value in the worldsteel route table. The DOE page is dated December 10, 2025: Iron and Steel Manufacturing.
Energy intensity is a physical measure, not a production-cost calculation. The routes use different mixes of electricity and fuels, and a gigajoule saved does not have the same monetary value in every region. worldsteel notes that shifting from globally traded coal toward locally priced electricity can increase regional differences in steelmaking costs, making access to affordable electricity important to competitiveness.
Rank #4
Costs: there is no generic BF-BOF or scrap-EAF winner established here
The available figures do not establish a defensible, direct capital-cost or total-cost winner between conventional BF-BOF and scrap-EAF. Lower energy use alone cannot settle the question: a like-for-like comparison also needs a defined region and year, plant boundary (new build or retrofit), product and quality, metallic charge, plant utilization, electricity and fuel prices, scrap and ore prices, labor, financing, and any carbon prices or subsidies.
One narrower cost comparison is available, but it concerns a different pathway. The International Energy Agency estimates that early commercial DRI-EAF plants using 100% hydrogen blends would cost 50–140% more than BF-BOF plants today, with the premium varying by region. This estimate applies to hydrogen-based DRI-EAF, not conventional scrap-EAF, and should not be used as a cost premium for all EAF steelmaking. The regional range and pathway are specified in the IEA’s Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025: Steel.
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Output: global production share is not furnace capacity
“Output” can mean a route’s share of national or global steel production, a plant’s annual capacity, the amount made in one furnace heat, or productivity per hour. Those measures are not interchangeable, and the available figures do not support a per-furnace or per-plant output ranking.
worldsteel’s current route overview puts BF-BOF at about 70% and EAF at about 30% of global steel production. Those approximate shares describe how steel is made worldwide, not how much a particular furnace can produce. The DOE reports that the United States produces about 80 million tonnes of steel annually and that EAFs make 70% of U.S. domestic steel; that is a country-specific production share, not a global figure or furnace-capacity comparison. Sources: worldsteel’s raw-materials overview and the DOE’s Iron and Steel Manufacturing page.
Quick Recap
Which comparison is useful for a real decision?
- For reported route emissions or energy: compare the route-specific figures, keeping scrap-EAF distinct from DRI-EAF and noting the year and measurement boundary.
- For a plant’s costs: compare a defined location, date, product, plant type, feedstock mix, input prices, utilization, and capital assumptions. The global intensity figures alone cannot determine the cheaper route.
- For supply or production capacity: specify whether the question concerns global share, national output, plant capacity, furnace heat size, or hourly productivity. The available global shares answer only the first of these.
- For material availability: account for suitable scrap supply and quality, as well as the ore and reducing-agent inputs required by ore-based routes. Scrap availability differs by country and cannot by itself replace all ore-based supply today.
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