China's Shandong province to cut coke production capacity by 10 mnt/year

East China's Shandong province plans to cut its production capacity of coke, a key steelmaking material, to 33 million tonnes/year by the end of June in 2025, as part of efforts to curb coal consumption and improve air quality, according to an action plan issued by the provincial government on July 12.

The plan mandates that those to-be-eliminated coking plants in the cities of Jining, Binzhou, and Heze in Shandong must be phased out by the end of 2024. Plants in six other cities, including Jinan, Zaozhuang, Weifang, Tai'an, Dezhou and Rizhao, must complete the phase-out process by the end of June 2025, the plan specifies.

Currently, Shandong's coke production capacity totals around 43 million t/y, including capacity of coke products earmarked for chemicals manufacturing and iron melting in foundries, Mysteel data show. This is a small portion of China's total coke capacity of 566 million t/y.

This move is part of a broader program of Shandong province to reduce coal consumption particularly in its non-power industries, thereby reducing air pollution and carbon emissions, as outlined in the plan.

By 2025, coal consumption in the key air pollution-prone areas of the province is targeted to decline by around 10% from the level in 2020, according to the plan.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.