Hyundai Steel Achieves World's First Trial Production of 'Low-Carbon Premium Steel Plates'

Hyundai Steel's Carbon Neutral Technology 'Hy-Cube' Achieves Successful Demonstration

Automotive parts using Hyundai Steel's 1.0GPa-class low-carbon steel sheets. Photo by Hyundai Steel

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] Hyundai Steel has succeeded in the pilot production of 'low-carbon premium steel plates' that reduce carbon emissions by more than 30% during the production process.

On the 13th, Hyundai Steel announced that it had completed the world's first pilot production of 1.0GPa-class premium steel plates using an electric furnace and the manufacturing of parts.

The low-carbon steel plates are characterized by reducing carbon emissions during the molten steel production process by using direct reduced iron and steel scrap in an electric furnace instead of producing molten iron by reducing iron ore and coal in a blast furnace.

This achievement was made possible through company-wide collaboration, including efforts in the steelmaking sector to finely control quality-degrading elements such as copper, tin, sulfur, and nitrogen using refining facilities differentiated from conventional electric furnaces, and the rolling sector's expertise in producing automotive outer panels and ultra-high-strength steel.

As a result, Hyundai Steel can now actually produce the product called 'low-carbon automotive premium steel plates,' which has been promoted as part of its carbon neutrality strategy.

The success of this low-carbon steel plate pilot production is a significant achievement, as it was accomplished through collaboration with Hyundai Motor and Kia's Basic Materials Research Center amid the overseas automotive industry's rapid push to apply low-carbon products, confirming Hyundai Steel's potential to supply and apply low-carbon products.

Furthermore, by producing low-carbon premium steel plates using existing facilities rather than new equipment, Hyundai Steel has taken a step closer to its carbon neutrality strategy represented by 'Hy-Cube.'

Previously, Hyundai Steel announced 'Hy-Cube,' an electric furnace-based carbon-neutral steel production system. The core of 'Hy-Cube' is to minimize carbon emissions by using steel scrap, molten iron (produced in a blast furnace), and DRI (direct reduced iron) in the new electric furnace (Hy-Arc) to produce premium steel plates such as automotive steel sheets. DRI refers to an alternative iron raw material made by injecting natural gas directly into solid-state iron ore instead of melting iron ore in a blast furnace.

A Hyundai Steel official said, "With the success of this pilot production, Hyundai Steel has confirmed the possibility of supplying low-carbon premium products using electric furnaces," adding, "We will proactively respond to the low-carbon product market through carbon-neutral technologies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.