China's steel industry carbon peak implementation plan and the formulation of the carbon neutral technology roadmap have been basically completed, and will be announced to the public in the near future, and full implementation will begin.
He Wenbo, executive chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, publicly stated on November 27 that the steel industry has the "three major functions" of product manufacturing, energy conversion, and social waste absorption, which determine its low-carbon attributes.
China Steel's continuous new breakthroughs in process research, new product development, and new energy applications will become a dazzling highlight in China's new green and low-carbon journey.
Continue to reduce steel production capacity
In the context of achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutral goals, as the industry with the largest carbon emissions among the 31 manufacturing sectors, the steel industry is under great pressure to reduce emissions.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, my country's crude steel output in 2020 is 1.053 billion tons, accounting for 56.5% of the global crude steel output in 2020.
China’s steel industry’s carbon emissions account for about 15% of the country’s total carbon emissions, and more than 60% of the world’s total carbon emissions from steel. Therefore, the steel industry is carbon peak and carbon neutral, both domestically and internationally. the key of.
Recently, the State Council formally issued the "Action Plan for Carbon Peaking by 2030" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), clarifying that the industrial sector should accelerate the green and low-carbon transformation and high-quality development, and strive to be the first to achieve carbon peaking.
Ge Xin, deputy director of the Lange Steel Research Center, told the CBN reporter that the plan will have a profound impact on the domestic steel industry. The supply side will focus on restricting the release of steel production capacity and optimizing and adjusting the stock production capacity structure; while the demand for steel will mainly increase The demand quality of the downstream steel industry will be adjusted to the downstream steel demand structure.
Starting from the two aspects of supply and demand, the domestic steel industry is gradually moving towards high-quality development.
Guotai Junan stated that the steel industry's carbon peak will mainly rely on controlling output and reducing energy consumption. Leading companies are expected to reach peak sooner than 2025.
In the medium and long term, the carbon reduction path of the steel industry may focus on hydrogen metallurgy and electric furnace steelmaking. At present, the carbon dioxide emissions of small-scale hydrogen metallurgy are basically the same as electric furnaces. Later, as the cost of hydrogen production decreases, hydrogen metallurgy may be gradually promoted.
The "Plan" pointed out that deepening the supply-side structural reform of the steel industry, strictly implementing capacity replacement, prohibiting new capacity, advancing stock optimization, and eliminating outdated capacity.
At the same time, focusing on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and surrounding areas, continue to reduce steel production capacity.
Recently, Hebei released a work plan for staggered production in the steel industry during the heating season, reiterating the staggered production target. Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Handan, Xingtai, Cangzhou, Xinji, Chengde, Zhangjiakou, Qinhuangdao and other regions require staggered production.
This is after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Notice of the Two Departments on Launching the Staggered Production of the Iron and Steel Industry in the Heating Season of 2021-2022 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Surrounding Areas" on September 30, Hebei once again carried out off-peak production of the iron and steel industry. Post to reiterate.
He Wenbo previously stated that the entire industry is currently deploying and vigorously promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. No matter how many paths there are, the ultimate solution to the problem still depends on research and development efforts and new breakthroughs in technological innovation.
The Global Low Carbon Metallurgical Innovation Alliance initiated by China Baowu Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. was formally established in Shanghai on the 18th.
The alliance is jointly formed by 62 companies, universities and scientific research institutions from 15 countries in the world.
The purpose is to cooperate in the development of basic and forward-looking low-carbon metallurgical technology; promote technical cooperation, technology exchanges, and technology transformation, promote the engineering and industrialization of low-carbon technologies, form a low-carbon value innovation chain for steel, and promote low-carbon steel industry Transformation.
A reporter from CBN noted that as early as March this year, the China Iron and Steel Association issued a document on the official WeChat that the "Iron and Steel Industry Carbon Peak and Carbon Reduction Action Plan" was being revised, and the preliminary goals and five major paths were proposed.
The industry carbon peak target is initially set as: before 2025, the steel industry will achieve a peak carbon emissions; by 2030, the steel industry's carbon emissions will be reduced by 30% from the peak, and it is expected that carbon emissions will be reduced by 420 million tons.
There are five major paths to achieve the goal, namely, promoting green layout, energy conservation and energy efficiency, optimizing energy use and process structure, building a circular economy industrial chain, and applying breakthrough low-carbon technologies.
What are the challenges facing the realization of "dual carbon"
Under the dual carbon goal, the development of the steel industry faces some challenges.
Li Xinchuang, chief engineer of the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, said: First, the production mechanism of the iron and steel industry is complex, and almost every production link produces carbon.
Second, the total amount of my country's steel industry is too large, accounting for 57% of the world's total.
Third, there are too many companies in the steel industry, and the industry at this stage is characterized by high carbon.
As we all know, iron ore must be used to produce steel, as well as coal.
Under the dual carbon goal, these are major constraints on the development of the industry.
Driven by the carbon peaking action plan, the supply of crude steel is expected to decrease year by year, industry mergers and reorganizations, green transformation and development will also accelerate, and related costs will also rise.
The China Iron and Steel Association pointed out after the release of the information in the third quarter that the "dual control" and "dual carbon" work has increased, which has brought greater pressure to the production and operation of enterprises, and the profitability of iron and steel enterprises is facing a downward trend in the fourth quarter.
The “Report on the Implementation of China’s Monetary Policy for the Third Quarter of 2021” recently released by the Central Bank also mentioned the promotion of green transformation and low-carbon development of steel companies.
The central bank said that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the steel industry still faces many challenges.
First of all, the prices of raw fuel materials continue to be high.
Since 2020, the prices of coking coal, coke and scrap steel required for steel production have risen sharply, pushing up the production costs of enterprises and posing challenges to the supply chain security of the steel industry.
Secondly, pressure on capacity release has risen.
Stimulated by the policy of stable growth and stable investment, all regions are more enthusiastic about steel investment. Some provinces and cities have further expanded steel production capacity through the relocation of urban steel mills and capacity replacement, and there is a risk of overcapacity.
In addition, the cost of low-carbon transformation is relatively high.
The iron and steel industry will soon be included in the national carbon emissions trading market, and carbon emissions will be restricted by quotas, which puts forward higher requirements for low-carbon transformation of enterprises.
Ultra-low emission transformation requires a large amount of investment in raw material structure, production technology, technical equipment, green products, and the connection of upstream and downstream industries, which brings challenges to the production and operation of enterprises.
The central bank stated that the next step is to accelerate the transformation and upgrading and high-quality development of the steel industry.
Steadily promote the optimization and structural adjustment of the iron and steel industry, ensure the withdrawal of reduced production capacity, and strengthen the guidance of expectations to avoid large market fluctuations.
Give full play to the role of the capital market in the technological transformation, energy conservation and environmental protection, intelligent manufacturing, mergers and reorganizations of iron and steel enterprises, increase direct financing support, and promote the green transformation and low-carbon development of iron and steel enterprises.
Author: Zhu Yanran