World’s Top Steelmaker Outlines Six-Point Plan to Cut Emissions
World’s Top Steelmaker Outlines Six-Point Plan to Cut Emissions
(Bloomberg) -- The world’s biggest steel producer outlined a six-point plan to cut emissions as scrutiny on the heavy-polluting sector intensifies.
China Baowu Steel Group released its priorities for decarbonization in Shanghai on Thursday, though without providing a timeline for their implementation. It also announced plans for a fund that will spend 35 million yuan ($5.5 million) each year to research low-carbon metallurgy and an alliance with 62 mills and institutions to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas releases.
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The company has previously pledged to reach peak emissions in 2023 and be carbon neutral by 2050, though the latter goal doesn’t include Scope 3 emissions. China has vowed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. ArcelorMittal -- the world’s second-biggest steelmaker -- is targeting a 35% reduction in its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Europe by 2030 and 25% globally.
China has been ramping up efforts to clean-up its giant steel sector, the second-biggest source of its emissions, with ferrous markets roiled throughout the year as authorities rolled out a series of curbs to cap production.
Hydrogen is a core pillar of Baowu’s decarbonization efforts, and the company is already trialling a hydrogen, carbon recycling project at a previously idled blast furnace in Xinjiang. Still, the technology remains in its infancy and expensive. BloombergNEF predicts hydrogen-based steel production could become cost-competitive with fossil-fuel-based methods by 2050.
Read more: Baowu, Top Global Steelmaker Seeks Hydrogen Lead: BNEF
Baowu said it had initiated the Global Low-Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Alliance after proposing the idea in 2019. Members include ArcelorMittal, Ansteel Group, Shougang Group and iron ore majors BHP Group, Rio Tinto Group, Vale SA and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.
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With assistance from Bloomberg