About Us
Introduction
Steel is a key sector for Europe’s economy and employment. The European steel industry’s annual revenues amount about to 200 billion Euro. The steel industry directly employs 420 thousand people and produces about 200 million tonnes of steel per year. More than 500 steel production sites in 22 EU Member States provide direct and indirect employment and a living for millions of European citizens.
The European Steel industry is and will remain an important partner in the future low-carbon economy.Steel is a direct supplier for and part of a value chain representing the best of European industry and contributing yearly revenues in excess of €3,000 billion and employing 23 million people.
Steel is indeed a key material for many of them (road, rail, maritime and air transportation, construction, energy, chemical industry, domestic appliances, metal goods and tubes, etc.). For example, approximately half of the steel production is used in the construction sector. Steel is also used for the development of both traditional (fossile and nuclear) and renewable energy production (solar, wind energy).
Steel will continue to be a very important industry in the future producing sustainable products which are endlessly recyclable: all surveys predict an important growth of global steel production and consumption. The global demand for steel will indeed remain robust in the long term to keep up with the demographic and economic growth.
Accommodating such a growth in a sustainable way will require the steel industry to focus further on important process and product innovations.
It is vital for the future of Europe and its citizens to maintain an innovative and competitive steel industry.
Created in 2004, the European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP) brings together the whole European steel industry, research centres, universities, the European Commission and Member States, as well as the other European institutions and trade unions.
- It expresses the major ambition of the steel industry, looking forward to 2030: the consolidation of undisputed leadership in sustainable development, given the rapid development in other parts of the world, notably Asia.
- It represents a response to the challenges that lie before us: the growing impact of globalisation, the matching of steel supply and demand, the climate change issue and the strengthening of the EU-27 partnerships.
- The Steel Technology Platform is geared to the future. Building on the foundation established by the first European research network created by the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the Steel Technology Platform will give new impetus to the full spectrum of European research into materials and processes.
On December 15th, 2004 the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) of the European Steel Technology Platform (ESTEP) was endorsed by the Steering Committeeand the procedure for implementing its R&D programmes was approved on July 7th 2005.
Priorities have been given within the industrial programmes of the Platform with a particular emphasis on both environmental and societal objectives. More than 120 experts meet several times a year to implement the R&D programme and to update it. For example new roadmaps have been endorsed by the Steering Committee in March 2009 and presented to the Mirror Group in July 2009.
The most important project worldwide on the reduction of CO2 emissions in steelmaking-ULCOS- is being carried out in the ESTEP Framework. It is hoped that this project will be one of the 10-12 projects of the European CCS Flagship programme.
It is envisaged that all necessary resources of the existing instruments will be combined at different levels: EU programmes (Framework programmes, RFCS, Eureka, etc.), national and regional programmes.
Furthermore as the 3 Public-Private-Partnerships initiatives of the European Recovery Plan perfectly meet most of its R&D priorities ESTEP intends to be fully involved in these new initiatives.
Welcome to this website which will provide you with all the information regarding the ESTEP from its SRA to its implementation phase.