Seven Chinese government departments have put forward a proposal to increase the share of electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in national steel production to over 20% by 2030.
China has encountered significant pressure in recent years from the global steel industry to decarbonize its production, due to its high proportion of blast furnaces. The decision to further implement greener production processes aims to bring the country closer to reaching its environmental goals of carbon neutrality by 2060, while maintaining production capacity.
Among the agencies that made the proposal are the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environmental Protection.
According to a report by GMK Center, since 2017, China has invested 110Mt/yr in new EAF capacity as part of a replacement programme, but the average utilization rate is 60%.
China’s steelmakers produced 1.019 billion tons of steel in 2023, up 0.6% year-on-year, meaning that the downward trend in the country’s steel industry has stopped after two consecutive years of production decline.
Source: GMK Center