Steel prices today fell to 4,058 yuan / ton on the Shanghai Exchange. Posco (South Korea) steel maker has committed a huge investment of 40 trillion won to switch to hydrogen-based “green” steel production by 2050.

Steel prices today go down
Steel price today delivered in January 2022 on the Shanghai Exchange fell 239 yuan to 4,058 yuan/ton at the time of the survey at 9:15 am (Vietnam time).

According to The Korea Herald, steel is responsible for about 8% of the world’s carbon emissions and is believed to be the main pollutant that raises the planet’s temperature. Futures trading prices of several metals on the Shanghai Exchange (Unit: yuan/ton). Summary: Thao Vy

Iron ore chart at Shanghai exchange (Source: Shfe)

Posco, South Korea’s top steel producer, was the nation’s biggest carbon emitter last year. Posco emitted more carbon than it needed and even amassed a debt of 78.6 billion won ($66.4 million) for not meeting the limit.

Realizing an existential crisis, the company pledged a massive 40 trillion won investment to overhaul its entire coal-fired production infrastructure and switch to hydrogen-based “green” steel production. in the year 2050.

In an interview with The Korea Herald, Cho Ju-ik, head of the Hydrogen Business Unit at Posco, emphasized the need for the transition but also acknowledged the key challenges that lie ahead.

“For centuries, mills have used blast furnaces to make steel,” he said. This method uses coal as raw material and cannot avoid carbon emissions.”

“For steelmakers, carbon neutrality leads to a transition to an entirely new production method. Those who do it the usual way and don’t keep up with the trends will be a thing of the past.”

Photo: Alibaba

Currently, 70% of the world’s steel is produced by blast furnaces. At the bottom of the furnaces, coal is burned to increase the temperature and produce carbon monoxide. When carbon monoxide meets iron ore, oxygen is removed and metallic iron is produced.

This coal-driven process uses a lot of carbon. The idea is to replace carbon monoxide with hydrogen, which can also react with iron ore and take away oxygen, creating water as a by-product instead of carbon.

The technology is far from perfect, and hydrogen cannot currently replace carbon monoxide in a 1:1 ratio. After 15 years of research and development, Posco is now able to mix 25% hydrogen and 75% carbon monoxide. The company expects it will take 30 years to completely improve the technology and completely replace carbon monoxide with hydrogen.

But, Mr. Cho Ju-ik said, even if the technology is ready three decades later, commercialization is a different story.

“Green steel uses hydrogen as its raw material instead of coal, so the price of hydrogen is a key factor,” the executive said. However, hydrogen is a new energy source, so it is difficult to predict how much it will cost in the future.

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