Wuhan SiWeiZhongcheng Technology Co.. Ltd
Technological Breakthrough – World’s First Hydrogen-Based Ironmaking Blast Furnace Starts Up, Launching a Green Metallurgy Revolution
Release time：2022-07-28
China’s steel industry has just entered a new era. The world’s first million-ton-per-year hydrogen-based molten-reduction ironmaking blast furnace—built by China Baowu Steel Group—was successfully ignited this week in Zhanjiang, Guangdong. The milestone signals the gradual shift from traditional “carbon metallurgy” to green “hydrogen metallurgy” and offers the global steel sector a viable “China solution” for achieving carbon neutrality.
Inside the vast plant, the new furnace runs quietly and emits almost no visible smoke, a sharp contrast to the billowing black plumes of conventional blast furnaces. Chief project engineer Zhang Jianguo told reporters that the core of the technology is the use of hydrogen as the primary reducing agent, replacing coke and pulverized coal. “When hydrogen reacts with iron ore, the by-product is water vapor, not carbon dioxide. Preliminary data show the process cuts direct CO₂ emissions by more than 85 %—a truly revolutionary low-carbon ironmaking technology.”
Ironmaking accounts for over 70 % of total carbon emissions in steel production. Successfully applying hydrogen-based ironmaking is therefore the key to unlocking the sector’s “high-carbon lock-in.” The project integrates the entire hydrogen value chain—wind- and solar-powered hydrogen production, storage, delivery and ironmaking—creating a complete green closed loop. “We produce ‘green hydrogen’ via on-site photovoltaic and wind facilities, ensuring the entire ironmaking route is clean and low-carbon from the very start,” Zhang added.
Industry experts agree that the successful start-up not only showcases China’s technological strength in steelmaking but also carries profound implications for global climate action. It heralds a future in which steel is no longer synonymous with pollution; instead, it can become a cornerstone of the green-energy system, supplying low-carbon raw materials for downstream sectors such as green construction and new-energy vehicles and endowing the traditional “steel” theme with a brand-new green connotation.
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