SMM

On December 23, 2025, China's first 1 million mt near-zero carbon steel production line was fully connected at Baosteel's Zhanjiang Steel, successfully producing the first heat of 220 mt of molten steel that day.
It is understood that the project consists of China's first 1 million mt hydrogen-based shaft furnace, which commenced operation in December 2023, along with newly built electric furnace and continuous casting production lines, forming a complete process of "hydrogen-based shaft furnace reduction—high-efficiency electric furnace smelting—low-carbon rolling production." The annual production capacity of near-zero carbon steel slabs is 1.8 million mt, and with supporting rolling facilities, it can produce high-grade sheets & plates for applications such as NEVs and high-end home appliances.

The core highlight of this near-zero carbon production line lies in its adoption of an advanced hydrogen metallurgy electric smelting process route, where hydrogen replaces traditional coke as the core raw material for smelting, fundamentally addressing the high energy consumption and high pollution issues of traditional steel industry. The production line can reduce carbon emissions by over 3.14 million mt annually, achieving a reduction of 50% to 80% compared to traditional processes, with significant emission reduction results. Initially, hydrogen will mainly come from Sinopec-Zhanjiang Refining and Chemical and Baosteel's own by-product hydrogen (annual capacity: 320,000 mt); in the long term, green hydrogen will be produced from offshore wind power, with substantial annual hydrogen consumption under full hydrogen operation. Additionally, the plant has completed a 95 MW distributed PV system with an annual power generation of 150 million kWh; a 400 MW offshore wind power project is planned, coupled with water electrolysis hydrogen production facilities, forming an integrated "wind and solar power + ESS + hydrogen" energy network, with the future green electricity share expected to reach 80%. It fully meets the EU's low-carbon steel standards.

Notably, this production line has successfully overcome industry technical challenges in short-process production of near-zero carbon high-grade sheets & plates, not only expanding the range of green high-end material options for Zhanjiang Steel but also driving the upgrading of China's steel product structure toward high-end and low-carbon directions, providing critical material support for the green transformation of downstream industries such as automotive and high-end equipment manufacturing.