What is the UK CBAM default value for sponge iron (DRI)?
HMRC's UK CBAM default for direct reduced iron (7203 10 00) is 1.149 tCO2e per tonne, the same for every country. The DRI boundary covers fuels and reducing agents such as coal or gas, carbonates and flue gas cleaning, with carbon left in the product or slag handled by mass balance.
What the UK figure covers
- CO2 from fuels and reducing agents: natural gas, fuel oils, process waste gases or coal.
- CO2 from process materials such as limestone, dolomite and other carbonates, and flue gas cleaning materials.
- Carbon remaining in the DRI, slag or wastes, accounted for by a mass balance.
- Biomass zero-rated only if it meets the criteria.
Coal-based kilns and the default
Coal-based rotary kilns use coal as both fuel and reductant. The single UK default of 1.149 applies whichever route you use, so work out your actual figure before assuming it beats the default.
Where DRI ends up
When DRI is melted into steel that reaches the UK, the DRI is a precursor in the steel's figure, using either its verified figure or this default.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads coal, iron ore and dolomite purchases with DRI output, so a mass balance can start from invoiced tonnes. We build the figure from your records and check every figure in-house; for the UK it must then be verified by a verifier accredited for UK CBAM. Have your own verifier? Send it to them.
Sources: HMRC, UK CBAM iron and steel default values (published 16 October 2026), HMRC, UK CBAM monitoring, reporting and verification technical guidance (October 2026)
Last reviewed 2026-11-02.