The Dutch space instrument TROPOMI creates a new world map of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO), among other things, every day. Researchers from SRON and TNO have now determined CO emissions from the 21 largest European steel plants, including Tata Steel, over a full year.
Satellites are ideally suited to measure emission sources around the world, with always the same instrument and in a transparent manner. In doing so, they create a level playing field for companies that have to comply with emission regulations. For example, future European space emissions such as CO2M and TANGO will measure the key greenhouse gas-CO2-to verify compliance with the Paris climate agreement.
Dutch satellite
The Dutch TROPOMI instrument on ESA's Sentinel-5p satellite measures daily emissions of CO, a major air pollutant. Companies in the EU with high CO emissions have to report them annually. Steel mills, as the largest industrial CO emitters, are a good example. But companies use different methods to do so, and not always based on direct measurements.
CO emissions from steel mills
A Dutch research team, including Gijs Leguijt (SRON/TNO), has now demonstrated that they can determine CO emissions from steelworks consistently using satellite measurements. Using TROPOMI, they determined the CO emissions for the whole of 2019 from the twenty-one largest European steelworks. Together, these account for 77 per cent of European and 7 per cent of global steel production. For the majority of the steelworks studied in Europe, the satellite measurements confirm the reported figures.
Measurements from space
'Until now, governments have depended on companies reporting their own emissions,' says Leguijt. 'Measurements from space give governments new tools to determine emissions from individual companies.'
Opening photo: Three examples of CO plumes from steel mills measured by the Dutch TROPOMI instrument. The researchers tracked CO emissions from these and 18 other steel mills for a year (Photo: SRON)
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