CISA advocates steel output control to facilitate ultra-low emission reform

China's ultra-low emission renovation of the steel industry will be of significance only if its steel output is kept under reasonable control, Luo Tiejun, vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), spoke at a work conference convened by Hebei provincial government on 22 December.

In his speech, Luo emphasized the need to strictly restrain the rise in the country's steel production capacity when proceeding the ultra-low emission reform on the steel industry and rating Grade A enterprises in environmental performance.

At the same time, China's steel industry should resolutely oppose taking excessive policy steps and blindly pursuing the "ultra-ultra-low" emissions, he warned.

According to statistics from CISA, the cost for ultra-low emission revamp work in the Chinese steel industry reaches Yuan 450 ($63) per tonne of steel, and the operating costs of related equipment average around Yuan 200 per tonne of steel. Meanwhile, domestic steel enterprises' profit per tonne of steel produced just hovers around zero, Luo remarked.

"We have to strike a balance between economy, ecology and sustainability as well as to maintain the global competitiveness of our steel industry while keeping water clear and sky blue," he suggested.

As of December 16, China has completed ultra-low emission renovation on about 507 million tonnes of crude steel capacity, with a total of 110 steelmakers across the country having fully or partly achieved ultra-low emission renovation, Luo shared.

In North China's Hebei, the country's top steel-producing province, 35 steelmakers have completed the entire process of ultra-low emission transformation by December 21, accounting for 40.5% of the country's total; and 33 steel enterprises in the province have been rated Grade A in environmental performance, he added.

CISA initially started assessing domestic steelmakers' ultra-low revamp work and published the results on its official website since August 2020. The ultra-low emission standards, finalized by Beijing in April 2019, include caps on pollutant emissions during steelmaking processes and mandate requirements on raw materials stocking and on means of transportation, as Mysteel Global reported.

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