Tembo Steels, a regional icon for Green Initiatives in Steel Making

For over 2 decades, Tembo Steels has been at the top of the steel manufacturing industry in Uganda.

The company went from TMT bar production to green steel.

Tembo Steels became Uganda’s only primary steel production provider, doing its best to avoid the impurities present in scrap-based steel.

With green steelmaking, protecting the environment becomes a priority, especially considering that steel production is currently responsible for around 10% of global carbon emissions and around 30% of emissions from industry.

In steelmaking, Blast Furnace is the main method used for production, making for about 70% of the world’s total steel production share. Meanwhile, scrap recycling, the electric furnace method, is the world’s secondary steel production technique, accounting for about 23% of global steel production.

However, the Blast Furnace Route leads to plenty of carbon emissions, actually being the most intensive method in this regard compared to other routes.

It leads to 2.2 — 2.4 tons of CO2 per ton of steel. Meanwhile, the EF route has a 0.6 ton of CO2 emission.

But now, a greener approach, known as the DRI or Direct Reduced Iron route, takes the lead. This has the lowest carbon emission in steel, leading to pure production while being a nature-friendly.

It should be remembered that the Uganda based Tembo Steels has over the years collaborated  with the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology of Makerere University and other institutions to promote career talks to learners of Mechanical Engineering.

Tembo, a world-class steel company leading in primary steel production has excellence in low-carbon steel production with a low CO2 emission blast furnace charge; leads in innovation; distinction in sustainability; leader in Life Cycle Assessment being a tool to support innovation and customer engagement life cycle thinking in the steel value chain; they are excellent in education and training due to global Competences Certifications and also, they are superior in communications programmes.

Steel is an essential building block of the modern society, found in everything from towering skyscrapers to humble household items.

While vital, steel production leaves a significant environmental footprint, accounting for 8 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, which is more than any other heavy industry.

Over the past decade, these emissions have consistently increased in parallel with the growing demand for steel, a demand that is projected to rise by an additional 30 per cent by 2050.

“We are proud that we have taken action to address the challenges posed by climate change and accelerate the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon economy. This requires efficient and streamlined permit processes that facilitate the development and deployment of innovative and environmentally friendly technologies and in the region we are the pioneers,” said Mr Sanjay Awasthi the Chairman Tembo Steels (U) Ltd recently.