Fatih Keseroğlu: Green steel is not rhetoric but a data-driven transformation
EFRS 2026 Executive Board Chair and Ekinciler Group CEO Fatih Keseroğlu says green steel is a measurable, verifiable, and data-driven long-term transformation process, with digitalisation playing a decisive role.
Ekinciler Group Executive Board Member and CEO Fatih Keseroğlu announced that digitalisation will play a decisive role in the green transformation of the iron and steel sector. Keseroğlu, who also chairs the Executive Board of the EFRS 2026 International Iron and Steel Symposium, said: "Green steel is not rhetoric; it is a measurable, verifiable, and data-driven long-term transformation process."
The symposium, organised by the Metallurgy and Materials Engineers Training Centre, will be held on 11-12 June 2026 at the İzmir Tepekule Congress Centre. The event, themed "Digital Steel for a Greener World," will bring together sector executives, producers, engineers, and academics.
Keseroğlu reminded that the iron and steel sector is one of the fundamental building blocks of industrial production and drew attention to its central position in climate policies due to its high energy intensity and carbon emissions. The European Green Deal, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and increasing ESG requirements are making a radical transformation in the sector mandatory.
Emphasising that the concept of green steel cannot be limited solely to low carbon emissions, Keseroğlu noted that this approach encompasses the entire process cycle of production. Energy efficiency, effective use of raw materials and natural resources, emissions management, and the integration of circular economy principles form the foundation of the transformation. Big data, artificial intelligence, and robotic technologies are among the indispensable components of this process.
The symposium will address topics including the European Green Deal, resource supply issues, transformation of integrated plants, and the need for high-quality raw materials. The energy crisis and its effects on investments will also be key agenda items.
Keseroğlu said that the claim of green steel can only gain meaning through measurability and verifiability. He stated that structures unable to calculate product-level carbon footprints, reliably track emission data, or undergo independent verification processes cannot use this concept.