China is nearing a key decision point, in which refurbishment of its steel sectors could lock in the high-emissions industry’s carbon output for more than a decade, a top expert noted.
Blast furnaces must be “relined” every 15-20 years to ensure they can safely handle enormous temperatures. Chinese steelmakers are coming to the point of deciding when and how to do so: Around three-quarters of Chinese blast furnace capacity will need relining by 2030, according to Wood Mackenzie.
“We’re facing … a stark dilemma,” Zhang Yan, advisor to the China Iron & Steel Research Institute, the country’s biggest steel R&D-focused state-owned enterprise, said in an interview. Chinese steelmakers, she noted, must determine whether they use traditional methods, locking in 34 gigatons of emissions, or spend more on new technologies and potentially reduce that by two-thirds.