As the First Mover in the New Iron Age... POSCO Accelerates Carbon Neutrality

Expansion and Reorganization of Vice Chairman's Direct Task Force
Opening of Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Development Center
Groundbreaking of 2.5 Million Ton Annual Electric Furnace Plant

POSCO's steps toward carbon neutrality by 2050 are accelerating.

On the 28th, POSCO announced that it has recently expanded and reorganized its carbon neutrality dedicated organization directly under the Vice Chairman, renaming it the 'Carbon Neutrality Strategy Office.' Kim Hee, the first female engineer executive, was appointed as the head of the office. By strengthening the organization and personnel, POSCO aims to accelerate the execution of the '2050 Carbon Neutrality' strategy in earnest. In 2022, POSCO established a dedicated organization and formulated a carbon neutrality strategy covering all areas including technology, raw materials, and infrastructure.

POSCO also opened a technology development center for mass production of hydrogen reduction steelmaking that does not use coal. The Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Development Center, which opened at the Gyeongbuk Pohang Steelworks at the end of last month, plays a role in verifying the commercialization potential of POSCO's proprietary hydrogen reduction steelmaking process, 'HyREX.' To this end, POSCO plans to complete a HyREX pilot plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons at the center by 2027.

On the 26th of last month, officials unveiled the plaque at the opening ceremony of the POSCO Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Development Center.
[Photo by POSCO]

To develop hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology, POSCO established the Low Carbon Steelmaking Research Institute within its research center last year, and this year launched the 'HyREX Promotion Team' to optimize the design of the HyREX pilot plant and prepare for full-scale construction. The hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology has been selected as a national strategic technology, recognized for its strategic importance in terms of national security and its impact on the overall national economy.

At the opening ceremony of the Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Development Center, POSCO CEO Lee Si-woo said, "Let POSCO become the first mover in the new iron age by developing hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology that uses hydrogen instead of carbon," and added, "I hope you will successfully implement the HyREX technology and take on the new challenge as the first new economic national treasure for carbon neutrality."

In addition, POSCO started construction this month on an electric furnace plant with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tons in Gwangyang, Jeonnam. It is scheduled to be completed by the end of next year and begin operation in 2026. The electric furnace method produces molten iron by recycling scrap iron, and it is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 3.5 million tons annually compared to the blast furnace method, which uses iron ore as raw material.

POSCO plans to produce products by applying the hot charging technology that either uses molten iron produced in the electric furnace directly or mixes it with molten iron produced in the blast furnace. Although the raw material is scrap iron, which had limitations in producing high-grade steel, the hot charging technology is expected to enable the production of low-carbon high-grade steel products as well.

POSCO stated, "We will fulfill our social responsibility by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 while actively responding to the low-carbon demands of the international community and stakeholders," and added, "We will do our best to secure future competitiveness in the global market."

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