Lower Thames Crossing low carbon steel: supply and design notes for project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
British suppliers could provide 85–90% of the Lower Thames Crossing’s low carbon steel demand, based on recent market engagement by the project team. The scheme, which includes a new Thames tunnel and major approach viaducts carrying the A122 and M25, is expected to require large volumes of structural and reinforcement steel with reduced embodied carbon relative to conventional UK steel. For designers and contractors, this signals strong potential to specify UK-sourced low carbon sections and rebar, simplifying assurance on supply chains and whole-life carbon targets.
Technical Brief
- Findings give designers early confidence to embed low-carbon steel assumptions into outline and detailed design stages.
- Procurement teams gain evidence to structure tenders favouring verified low-carbon UK mills and fabricators.
- Supply-chain assurance is simplified by concentrating traceability, EPD data and certification within a predominantly domestic network.
- For contractors, shorter steel logistics chains reduce programme risk from port congestion and international freight disruption.
- Results provide a template for similar UK megaprojects to pre-test local low-carbon material capacity.
Our Take
Within the 741 Infrastructure stories in our database, steel appears far less frequently than concrete in decarbonisation discussions, so using low‑carbon steel at the Lower Thames Crossing signals a shift in where embodied‑carbon savings are being sought.
The ability for British suppliers to cover roughly 85–90% of low‑carbon steel demand on a single flagship project suggests domestic mills and fabricators are already scaling green steel offerings, which could tighten specification standards for future UK infrastructure tenders.
Given that this sits in the Sustainability‑tagged subset of our coverage, contractors on other major UK projects using steel are likely to face pressure to demonstrate similar domestic low‑carbon sourcing options in order to remain competitive at bid stage.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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