On 26 June, the industry ministry said that South Korea will aim to create hydrogen-based steelmaking technology by 2030. This will assist the country’s steel industry become more competitive on the world arena and realise carbon neutrality.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy wants to invest 814.6 billion won (US$600 million) over the next five years to work with the private sector to create a demonstration technology for creating steel from hydrogen. This is because the investigation of whether or not this is possible has just been finished.
This new technique uses hydrogen gas instead of coal to process iron ore, and major economies have been eager to get their hands on it. Compared to traditional approaches, it might help steelmakers cut carbon emissions by more than 95%.
The idea asks the government to build a factory that can create 300,000 tonnes of molten iron and hydrogen-reduced steel. It will also use hydrogen-based steelmaking methods on electric arc furnaces that small and medium-sized firms possess.
The project seeks to leverage FINEX, which is one of the national strategic technologies, to help build technology for creating steel from hydrogen.
FINEX is a way to make steel that is better for the environment. It can make molten metal straight from iron ore fines and non-coking coal, which is better than the previous blast furnace process.
“We expect the demonstration project to help the local steel industry achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and also take a leading position in the global market,” an official at the ministry said.