Union's £200m British Steel rescue plan to keep blast furnaces open until electrification

It said this “is critical to ensuring production stability, customer retention, and financial viability”.

The union said the plan would secure a move towards greener steelmaking, requiring an additional £200m of Government support to mitigate carbon costs in the interim period.

Community general secretary Roy Rickhuss said: “The new plan from our experts at Syndex lays out the roadmap towards a just transition for British Steel in Scunthorpe, which is a site of huge strategic importance to the UK as our last remaining primary steelmaking site.

“Were Scunthorpe steelworks to close, the UK would become the only G7 country without domestic steelmaking capacity – that would represent a huge risk to national security and sovereignty, with the country becoming reliant on dirty imports from overseas. That is not something we should ever be willing to accept.

“The new expert-led proposal for British Steel has the support of all the steel unions and offers an achievable and potentially profitable solution for decarbonising Scunthorpe, provided that there is an injection of support on carbon costs over the transition period.

“By maintaining blast furnace production whilst new technologies are introduced on-site, the new plan for Scunthorpe would avoid the need for a destructive cliff-edge for the workforce, and it provides long-term certainty for the steelworks and the wider community it supports.”

British Steel announced it would close its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe last year, replacing them with a less polluting electric arc furnace if it received “appropriate support” from the Government.

Ministers have been locked in talks with the company’s Chinese owners, Jingye, over a potential rescue plan for months.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced a £500m package in September to support the Tata steelworks in Port Talbot to make the transition to low-carbon steel production, but no agreement has been reached with British Steel.

However, earlier this month Sir Keir Starmer revealed a multi-billion pound investment by Heathrow Airport would use Scunthorpe steel.

Mr Reynolds met with Jingye again this week to thrash out the plant’s future, amid uncertainty in the sector over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

There have been fears within the industry that if an agreement isn’t reached then the blast furnaces could be switched off and thousands of jobs may be lost.

Labour MP for Scunthorpe Sir Nic Dakin urged the Government to consider the proposal.

"Scunthorpe steelworks is the beating heart of our community, and a future without it is unimaginable and unacceptable,” he said.

"The new report from Syndex - which has the support of Community and the other steel unions - shows that there is a viable alternative on the table.

"Steel is essential for our national security and environmental ambitions - you can't have a greener economy without a healthy UK steel industry. Scunthorpe is an absolutely crucial part of that as the producer of the steel needed for construction and major infrastructure projects.”

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “This government will not allow the end of steel making in the UK.

“That’s why we’ve committed up to £2.5 billion of investment to rebuild the industry and our Plan for Steel consultation, launched last week, will examine the long-term issues facing the industry.

“The Business Secretary and Industry Minister met British Steel and Jingye recently, and we continue to work in partnership with trade unions and businesses to secure a green steel transition that’s right for the workforce, represents a good investment for taxpayers and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain.”

A British Steel spokesperson said: “British Steel is in active discussions with the UK government about the future of our steelmaking operations. Our trade union partners will be an important part of that future, and we welcome their contribution to the debate in the Syndex report.”