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Tech Update: Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel launches China's hydrogen-based shaft furnace of 1 mnt capacity

Baosteel Group leading the way in low-carbon steelmaking Demonstration Plant aims to cut 500,000 t of CO2 emissions Steel production through green hydrogen long-term goal...

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BigMint Bureau

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18 Feb 2022, 11:22 IST

Tech Update: Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel launches China's hydrogen-based shaft furnace of 1 mnt capacity

Baosteel Group leading the way in low-carbon steelmaking
Demonstration Plant aims to cut 500,000 t of CO2 emissions
Steel production through green hydrogen long-term goal

Baosteel Group subsidiary Zhanjiang Iron and Steel Zero-Carbon Demonstration Plant officially started the 1 million tonne (mnt) hydrogen-based shaft furnace project on 15 Feb'22. This is the first 1 mnt hydrogen-based shaft furnace in China, and also the first integrated facility for use of hydrogen and coke oven gas for industrial purposes.

The official start of the construction of the hydrogen-based shaft furnace project marks the official landing of the 'zero-carbon' direction of China's green steel industry and the low-carbon transformation of the industry.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the 'Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of the Iron and Steel Industry' on 7 Feb. Through effective means such as low-carbon and intelligent manufacturing, improving resource security capabilities and effective supply. China's policy-makers are seeking to accelerate the advancement of the domestic steel industry to the mid-to-high end of the industrial and value chain.

Low-carbon transformation

China's steel industry account for about 15% of national carbon emissions, more than 60% of global steel industry carbon emissions and has the target to achieve 'carbon peaking' by 2030.

Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel's hydrogen-based shaft furnace has a strong demonstration effect as the leader in low-carbon metallurgy in the iron and steel industry. It can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 500,000 t/year. Under the 'dual carbon' goal, the advantages of low-carbon metallurgy will prompt major domestic mills to increase their R&D.

Some domestic steel enterprises have obvious problems in the replacement of existing iron and steel production capacity. The trend of shifting from long route to short route will lead the competition in the steel industry in the future.

Hydrogen from renewables

The introduction of green energy will be one of the paths for steel companies to achieve the goal of 'carbon peaking', i.e. to generate 'green hydrogen' by generating electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind energy and photovoltaics in an effort to achieve near-zero in the whole process.

In the future, Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron and Steel will utilise 'light-electricity-hydrogen' and 'wind-electricity-hydrogen', as opposed to hydrogen generated from fossils, to achieve ultra-low emissions in steelmaking. The long-term goal is to cut emissions by more than 90%, and the green hydrogen powered zero-carbon factory is sustained through carbon capture, forest carbon sink, etc.

Courtesy: Lange Steel Research Center