China debuts ‘world’s first’ million-ton hydrogen-electric steel line

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/worlds-first-million-ton-hydrogen-steel-production

by Economy-Fee5830

7 comments

  1. # Summary: China’s Million-Ton Hydrogen Steel Plant Goes Into Full Production

    China has successfully launched the world’s first full-scale hydrogen-based steel production line in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. Operated by Baowu Steel, the facility became fully operational on December 23, 2025.

    **Key Technical Features:**

    – Uses hydrogen instead of traditional coke as the reducing agent
    – Employs a million-tonne hydrogen-based shaft furnace producing direct reduced iron
    – Processes material through high-efficiency green electric furnaces
    – Reduces carbon emissions by 50-80% compared to conventional blast furnaces

    **Environmental Impact:**

    – Prevents over 3.46 million tons of annual carbon emissions
    – Equivalent to creating approximately 2,000 square kilometers of forest

    **Strategic Significance:**

    – Represents a major transition from coal-heavy to low-emission steel production
    – Positions China to avoid international carbon tariffs (like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism)
    – Produces high-grade steel for automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors
    – Aligns with China’s 14th Five-Year Plan green transformation goals (126 new green steel plants certified 2021-2024)

    The facility marks a significant industrial-scale shift toward decarbonizing one of the world’s most emissions-intensive industries.

  2. They just forgot to mention that they source the hydrogen for the steel plant from coke oven gas during coal processing, industrial processing of vinyl acetate, and processing natural gas.

  3. Hot damn we thought USA would be neck and neck with china for at least 50-75years. Who had on their bingo card we’d hand the damn keys to the future right to them? I think I’ll start learning mandarin

  4. Well well well. I bet their IRS isn’t differentiating between “green” and “gray” hydrogen.

  5. They have so much electrical power that they’re making all this possible.

  7. It‘s still grey hydrogen, but it is one step closer to decarbonize the industry with the goal to use green hydrogen in the near future.

    Green hydrogen is still three times more expensive than grey hydrogen made from natural gas and one huge problem with natural gas is, that if it‘s not handled properly from well to the place it is used, it can be more devastating for the atmosphere than still using coal (In this process) or oil.

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