Editoel Herh POSCO held an event in honor of declaring its vision of “Better World with Green Steel” in July.
After 50 years of growth, POSCO is preparing for the next
50 years with its hydrogen reduction steel technology. The Korean steelmaker
plans to finalize the commercialization of its HyREX technology by 2030 and
convert its Pohang and Gwangyang steel plants to those based totally on the new
steelmaking technology by 2050.
POSCO will replace existing production methods such as the
blast furnace method with the HyREX 1 method at Pohang Works in 2033, according
to POSCO on Nov. 26. By 2050, the company will complete hydrogen reduction
steel production systems at Pohang Works and Gwangyang Works (three systems at
each and six systems in total).
POSCO is developing commercial hydrogen reduction steel
technology based on its hydrogen reduction steelmaking method “HyREX.” This is
an advanced technology developed based on POSCO’s unique FINEX fluidized
reactor. FINEX is a facility that can directly use cheap, powdery iron ore and
bituminous coal to produce steel without any preliminary treatment of raw
materials. POSCO commercialized FINEX for the first time in the world in 2007.
POSCO is accelerating the commercialization of hydrogen
reduction steelmaking. In July last year, the company signed a business
agreement with British plant builder Primetals, which designed the FINEX
facility with POSCO, to design a tentative HyREX facility. The test facility
will be built in 2026 to confirm the possibility of commercialization. The
company will then complete the commercialization of HyREX technology by 2030.
Based on the commercialization of HyREX technology, the
company plans to gradually convert blast furnace facilities at Pohang Works and
Gwangyang Works to hydrogen-reduction steelmaking facilities by 2050. There
will be six hydrogen-reduction steelmaking systems as the two locations will
have three each.
In July, POSCO announced a vision that embodies its 2050
carbon neutrality goal. The vision “Better World with Green Steel” has
environmental (innovative technology), economic (sustainable growth), and
social (a better future) meanings.
POSCO aims to build global crude steel production capacity
of 52 million tons by 2030 and log 100 trillion won in combined sales.
To this end, POSCO is also pumping up its efforts to build
eco-friendly commercial production systems abroad. The company plans to ramp up
its overseas crude steel production capacity to more than 10 million tons in
2030 from 5 million tons in 2022 to further solidify its position as a global
steelmaker.
In Indonesia, POSCO will build a consistent automotive
steel production line centered on Krakatau POSCO to secure market leadership in
Southeast Asia. In India, the steelmaker will build a low-carbon production
base by breaking ground for an eco-friendly facility. It is also planning to
expand its share in the Indian market by linking with POSCO’s cold rolling mill
in Maharashtra, India.