China’s pathway to carbon neutrality for the iron and steel industry

Abstract

As a hard-to-abate sector, the iron and steel industry is responsible for 22% of China’s total carbon emissions and therefore plays a crucial role in achieving China’s carbon peaking and neutrality target. Nearly 90% of China’s iron and steel output is produced with coal-based blast furnaces, which results in high carbon emission intensity. To peak China’s carbon emissions and achieve the carbon neutrality target, it is essential to accelerate the application of breakthrough technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and hydrogen-based steel-making. This paper estimates the future CO2 emissions from China’s iron and steel industry in pathways that consider the influence of different technology portfolios, technology maturity, decarbonization of power systems, and future steel production output. The results show that using currently available technology, China’s iron and steel industry can reduce CO2 emissions by more than 50%. However, it cannot achieve the neutrality target without using innovative technologies. By combining conventional strategies with net-zero emission technologies such as CCS and hydrogen metallurgy, approximately 80–90% emission reduction can be achieved, thus leading to a carbon neutrality pathway, which can meet the 1.5°C targets of the carbon budget limit either. In the future, carbon emissions' reduction potential will be influenced by the decarbonization of power systems and the diffusion rate of innovative technologies. To achieve carbon neutrality, it is essential to act sooner and faster.