Iron & Steel
Steel DPP Data Fields: Scrap, Route, Carbon
Which steel DPP data fields to expect: production route, scrap share, embodied carbon, EN 10027 grade and heat number, with likely access tier and evidence
Iron and steel carries an indicative 2026 delegated-act year in the ESPR Working Plan; as of September 2026 no text has been adopted, so no field list is final. The core is nevertheless predictable: the JRC preparatory study, CBAM's plant data and the steel trade's own documents all point the same way.
The DPP for iron and steel drew the sector's overall picture. This article goes field by field: likely access tier, evidence record and what to prepare today.
What is fixed and what is expected
The framework is fixed: ESPR requires the information requirements of a delegated act to be carried in the passport in access tiers. Which fields, in which unit and under which methodology, arrives only with the text. When a draft appears, read its information-requirements annex field by field; the method is in how to read a draft delegated act.
Two signals shape the expectation: the preparatory study's data-point proposals (see what a JRC preparatory study is) and the installation-level emissions data CBAM has demanded since 2026. Asking for the same data in the passport is the natural next step.
Expected fields, tier and evidence
| Field | Likely tier | Evidence source |
|---|---|---|
| Production route (BF-BOF, EAF, DRI-EAF) | Public | Plant process description, CBAM installation record |
| Scrap share | Public | Charge records, period mass balance |
| Embodied carbon (t CO2e/t) | Value public, calculation detail restricted | CBAM emissions calculation, verifier report |
| Grade (EN 10027 name and number) | Public | Order, EN 10204 certificate |
| Heat number | Public | Melt-shop production system |
| Chemical analysis and mechanical properties | Restricted (customer, authority) | EN 10204 3.1 certificate, laboratory record |
| Country of production, installation ID, coating | Public | Installation record, production recipe |
Tiers follow restricted data tiers under EN 18239: everyone sees identity and environmental profile; customer-specific technical detail opens with authorisation.
Production route and scrap share
The blast furnace-basic oxygen (BF-BOF) route starts from ore and is carbon-intensive; the electric arc furnace (EAF) melts scrap; DRI-EAF processes direct-reduced iron in an arc furnace. In the passport the route is the context that makes the carbon value readable.
The scrap share is the circularity field; its evidence is a period-based mass balance: scrap tonnage charged over a period, divided by total metallic input. The delegated act may also ask for the pre-consumer (internal returns) versus post-consumer split; keeping it in charge records from today is cheap, reconstructing it later is expensive. See how to prove recycled content.
Embodied carbon: the same number as CBAM?
No, but it comes from the same records. CBAM asks for specific embedded emissions at installation level: tonnes of CO2e per tonne of product within the regulation's boundary; for iron and steel, direct emissions are the basis today. The passport's carbon field may instead be a cradle-to-gate product carbon footprint under the methodology the delegated act chooses, in which case indirect emissions from electricity and inputs also count.
The right design feeds both calculations from one data dictionary: meter data, production tonnage, input origin and scrap share are collected once; the CBAM report and the passport field diverge only in the calculation layer. See CBAM's definitive period for steel exporters, how to calculate a PCF and the product carbon footprint guide.
Fields that come from the certificate
Grade designation, heat number, chemical analysis and mechanical properties are not new data; they are already on the EN 10204 certificate of every shipment. EN 10027 gives a double designation: the steel name (for example S355J2) and the steel number (1.0577); carry both as separate fields.
The difference is the format: a PDF certificate is a document, a passport field is a machine-readable, versioned, tiered record. Certificate to structured fields: EN 10204 certificates going digital; the heat number along the route: heat-number batch traceability.
What it means for Türkiye
Turkish steel production is dominated by the electric arc furnace, a natural advantage in the route and scrap-share fields. Turning it into passport value needs two things: a scrap share calculated per period and documented, and a declarable electricity source, which largely determines an EAF's carbon value. A high scrap share does not hide grid carbon intensity; if the delegated act brings indirect emissions into scope, that field will be decisive.
Practical order: structure heat-level records and certificate data first, then map your CBAM installation data onto passport fields, and finalise the carbon methodology only against the draft.
Frequently asked questions
Which data fields will be mandatory in a steel DPP?
Not yet fixed; the draft delegated act is awaited. Production route, scrap share, embodied carbon, grade, heat number and installation identity are the strongest candidates.
Will the scrap share be public in the passport?
We expect so: circularity indicators generally sit in the public tier. Calculation details such as the charge recipe can stay restricted.
Can the CBAM emissions value be written straight into the passport's carbon field?
Not directly, because the system boundaries differ. Both derive from the same installation data, so one data dictionary removes the double work.
