China launches first steel plant powered entirely by green hydrogen
China has activated the first steelmaking plant running solely on green hydrogen, cutting the process from 6 hours to 6 seconds, a leap that worries the European industry.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
China starts up the first steel plant that runs entirely on green hydrogen
At a time when Europe is debating how to decarbonise its industry without offshoring it, China has just switched on the first continuous casting plant for automotive steel that uses green hydrogen as its only fuel. The only emissions from the process, apart from those of the melt itself, are water vapour. The news has landed like a cold shower on the global steel sector, and not exactly because of its green credentials.
The process, known as Flash Ironmaking, cuts manufacturing time from six hours to six seconds. Nothing more, nothing less. It originated from research by the US Department of Energy in 2013, and it was China that, after a decade of R&D, achieved the first commercial plant. The collaboration with Italian companies suggests that, once again, the EU is funding R&D that ends up materialising in the Asian giant.
Green hydrogen or green propaganda?
Scepticism is inevitable. Hydrogen is labelled "green" if it is produced from renewables, but some analysts argue the energy could come from nuclear or even coal, given that China is still building coal-fired power plants. The water vapour emitted, moreover, is a greenhouse gas more potent than CO₂, although its lifecycle is shorter. The debate over whether this is a real breakthrough or just a headline-grabbing slogan is wide open.
What nobody disputes is the estimulante ilegal: the new method reduces iron ore reduction time from hours to seconds, a technological leap that, if confirmed, would render traditional blast furnaces obsolete. And while Europe is closing plants and subsidising pilot projects with uncertain results, China already has the first factory up and running.
The impact on the global steel market
Steelmaking uses neither oil nor gas, but coking coal. Green hydrogen, however, makes it possible to remove carbon from the process and, with it, CO₂ emissions. For European producers, already burdened with energy and environmental cost overruns, Chinese competition becomes even more lethal. If the technology scales up, the market share of Chinese steel, already dominant, will soar. European manufacturers, it is noted, do not even have a similar project in the pipeline. The competitive gap is enormous.
The baffling figure
The entire process cuts manufacturing time from 6 hours to 6 seconds. Such a drastic efficiency improvement that, if confirmed, it will not only transform the steel industry but also redefine global supply chains. No one in the West should expect an easy ride: the technology already exists, it is working, and it is Chinese.
At a time when Europe is debating how to decarbonise its industry without offshoring it, China has just switched on the first continuous casting plant for automotive steel that uses green hydrogen as its only fuel. The only emissions from the process, apart from those of the melt itself, are water vapour. The news has landed like a cold shower on the global steel sector, and not exactly because of its green credentials.
The process, known as Flash Ironmaking, cuts manufacturing time from six hours to six seconds. Nothing more, nothing less. It originated from research by the US Department of Energy in 2013, and it was China that, after a decade of R&D, achieved the first commercial plant. The collaboration with Italian companies suggests that, once again, the EU is funding R&D that ends up materialising in the Asian giant.
Green hydrogen or green propaganda?
Scepticism is inevitable. Hydrogen is labelled "green" if it is produced from renewables, but some analysts argue the energy could come from nuclear or even coal, given that China is still building coal-fired power plants. The water vapour emitted, moreover, is a greenhouse gas more potent than CO₂, although its lifecycle is shorter. The debate over whether this is a real breakthrough or just a headline-grabbing slogan is wide open.
What nobody disputes is the estimulante ilegal: the new method reduces iron ore reduction time from hours to seconds, a technological leap that, if confirmed, would render traditional blast furnaces obsolete. And while Europe is closing plants and subsidising pilot projects with uncertain results, China already has the first factory up and running.
The impact on the global steel market
Steelmaking uses neither oil nor gas, but coking coal. Green hydrogen, however, makes it possible to remove carbon from the process and, with it, CO₂ emissions. For European producers, already burdened with energy and environmental cost overruns, Chinese competition becomes even more lethal. If the technology scales up, the market share of Chinese steel, already dominant, will soar. European manufacturers, it is noted, do not even have a similar project in the pipeline. The competitive gap is enormous.
The baffling figure
The entire process cuts manufacturing time from 6 hours to 6 seconds. Such a drastic efficiency improvement that, if confirmed, it will not only transform the steel industry but also redefine global supply chains. No one in the West should expect an easy ride: the technology already exists, it is working, and it is Chinese.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (68 replies).
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