The steel industry is undergoing a major transformation process to focus on low carbon emissions at the moment. Beside the development of completely new process routes, the effect of the already used refractory material is significant. On the one hand, the refractory material does have an intense carbon footprint, coming from the raw materials used and the pre-firing, in case of bricks. On the other hand, the refractory materials cause emissions when applied to aggregates in steel industry. With focus on refractory castables, an energy intensive dry-out process needs to be completed. Another main point is the lifetime of the refractory lining. The longer the lifetime is, the lower the impact on total carbon emissions will be. To contribute to all of these goals, cement free castables were developed to reach high heating up rates to safe energy and reach the maximum possible lifetime. In addition, a special product range was put into the market, which combines fast heating up and high strength over the complete temperature range to ensure a significant reduction in emission for the steel plants. In this study the realistic impact on emissions and lifetime with using tailored refractory solutions is shown. Focusing on the goal to be as efficient as possible, examples from industrial applications of cement free castables is shown for steel ladles and tundish linings.