China's first million-tonne-level near-zero carbon steel production line went fully operational in late December in Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, marking a new milestone in the green, low-carbon transformation of traditional industries.
In 2025, China has continued to advance green development, leveraging sci-tech innovation to make industrial production more environment-friendly -- particularly in traditional sectors like steel and chemicals, which were once highly polluting and energy-intensive. The green upgrade of these traditional industries is crucial for building a sustainable economy.
GREEN STEEL PRODUCTION
Among the green transformations seen in various traditional industries, breakthroughs in the steel sector stand out as particularly noteworthy as they are crucial to China's emissions reduction efforts.
Operated by a subsidiary of Baosteel, which is one of China's leading steelmakers, this production line comprises a hydrogen-based shaft furnace with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes, alongside an electric furnace and a continuous casting line.
The new project has adopted advanced hydrogen metallurgy and electric smelting technology. By replacing traditional coke with hydrogen, it has moved away from the traditional energy-intensive and highly polluting process, charting a new course for the steel industry to break its fossil fuel dependency.
The production line has validated high-hydrogen smelting conditions, with the metallization rate of its direct reduced iron (DRI) meeting expectations. It will primarily utilize DRI and scrap steel as raw materials to produce low-carbon-emissions slabs, leveraging existing rolling facilities to manufacture low-carbon and near-zero-carbon steel products.
Compared to conventional steel production lines, the project is projected to achieve a carbon reduction of 50 percent to 80 percent.
"This near-zero-carbon steel production line can cut carbon emissions by over 3.14 million tonnes annually, which is equivalent to planting 2,000 square kilometers of forests," said project leader Wang Hongliang.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)