Prospects for green steelmaking technology with low carbon emissions in China

Abstract The steel industry is a major source of CO₂ emissions, and thus, the mitigation of carbon emissions is the most pressing challenge in this sector. In this paper, international environmental governance in the steel industry is reviewed, and the current state of development of low‐carbon technologies is discussed. Additionally, low‐carbon pathways for the steel industry at the current time are proposed, emphasizing prevention and treatment strategies. Furthermore, the prospects of low‐carbon technologies are explored from the perspective of transitioning the energy structure to a “carbon–electricity–hydrogen” relationship. Overall, steel enterprises should adopt hydrogen‐rich metallurgical technologies that are compatible with current needs and process flows in the short term, based on the carbon substitution with hydrogen (prevention) and the CCU (CO₂ capture and utilization) concepts (treatment). Additionally, the capture and utilization of CO₂ for steelmaking, which can assist in achieving short‐term emission reduction targets but is not a long‐term solution, is discussed. In conclusion, in the long term, the carbon metallurgical process should be gradually supplanted by a hydrogen–electric synergistic approach, thus transforming the energy structure of existing steelmaking processes and attaining near‐zero carbon emission steelmaking technology.