Promoting Green and Low Carbon Development in the Steel Industry and Promoting Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Special Action
2024-06-14
Energy conservation and carbon reduction are important measures to actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality, comprehensively promote the construction of a beautiful China, and promote comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. The steel industry is an important basic industry of the national economy, as well as a key industry for energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission, in conjunction with relevant departments, issued the "Special Action Plan for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in the Steel Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"), which clearly states that by the end of 2025, the energy consumption per unit of blast furnace and converter processes in the steel industry will be reduced by more than 1% compared to 2023, the energy consumption per unit of electric arc furnace smelting will be reduced by more than 2% compared to 2023, the comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel will be reduced by more than 2% compared to 2023, and the self generation rate of residual heat and pressure will be increased by more than 3 percentage points compared to 2023. Currently, the ultimate energy efficiency project in the steel industry is steadily advancing, with the main energy consumption indicators continuously decreasing and the level of energy utilization gradually improving. According to statistics from the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, the comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel decreased by 0.26% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024. As of April 23, 2024, a total of 136 steel companies have completed or partially completed ultra-low emission transformation and evaluation monitoring. Among them, 95 enterprises have completed the full process ultra-low emission transformation, involving a crude steel production capacity of approximately 449.5 million tons. In the view of relevant officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, currently, about 15% of the crude steel industry's production capacity and energy efficiency still cannot reach the benchmark level, indicating huge potential for energy conservation and carbon reduction. Promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction in the steel industry, controlling the entry barriers for new projects, implementing energy-saving and carbon reduction renovations for existing projects, promoting the updating of energy consuming equipment, optimizing energy consumption structure, can effectively improve energy utilization efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and is of great significance for supporting energy conservation and carbon reduction in the whole society. Feng Chao, Deputy Secretary General of the China Iron and Steel Industry Association, stated that promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction in the steel industry is an important lever for developing new quality productivity, an important way to steadily promote carbon peaking and neutrality, and an important support for achieving the energy-saving and carbon reduction goals of the 14th Five Year Plan. "The development of China's steel industry has entered an accelerated evolution period from scale efficiency to quality efficiency, and is in a critical stage of achieving the transformation from large to strong. In the current global context of accelerating green and low-carbon transformation, energy conservation and efficiency improvement are important ways for steel enterprises to optimize costs, improve quality and efficiency, and establish a green and low-carbon image." Xiao Bangguo, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Vice President (in charge of work) of the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, said. For the key tasks of energy conservation and emission reduction in the steel industry, the Action Plan clarifies the need to improve capacity regulation and production management, enhance the level of energy conservation and carbon reduction in new projects, accelerate energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation and energy equipment updates, promote the utilization of surplus energy throughout the entire process, increase the proportion of short process electric furnace steelmaking, accelerate the development of new low-carbon smelting models, and enhance the level of digital management. "Promoting energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation and upgrading of energy equipment in the steel industry is conducive to accelerating the optimization and adjustment of the steel industry's product structure, energy consumption structure, raw material structure, and process reengineering, promoting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the industry, and enhancing China's steel industry's global competitiveness." Feng Chao stated that the main path for low-carbon development in the steel industry includes improving system energy efficiency, resource recycling, and process optimization and innovation. Improving system energy efficiency is currently the most important, economical, and direct means to effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Regarding the "Accelerating the Development of New Low Carbon Smelting Models" mentioned in the Action Plan, Xiao Bangguo encouraged steel enterprises with conditions to use existing blast furnaces to conduct low-carbon metallurgical industrial research experiments on hydrogen rich carbon cycle oxygen blast furnaces. Fully leverage the comparative advantages of domestic coal resources and coke oven gas, and on the basis of comprehensive consideration of resource conditions, economic feasibility, and technological maturity, focus on breaking through non blast furnace ironmaking technologies such as hydrogen based direct reduction and hydrogen rich melt reduction, and leverage the synergistic carbon reduction effect of non blast furnace ironmaking and electric furnace short process steelmaking. Cultivate and build several hydrogen metallurgy leading demonstration enterprises, accelerate the research and development, and promotion and application of advanced low-carbon metallurgy technologies. According to the reporter's summary, currently, many major steel producing provinces in China have issued corresponding policies to promote the transition from long process steelmaking to short process steelmaking. For example, Shanxi Province mentioned in the "Implementation Plan for Carbon Peaking in the Industrial Sector of Shanxi Province" that by 2025, the proportion of short process steelmaking will strive to increase to over 5%; Hebei Province also mentioned in the Implementation Plan of the Hebei Province Air Quality Continuous Improvement Action Plan that by 2025, the proportion of short process steelmaking production will reach over 5%. "The trend is to gradually shift from long process steelmaking to short process steelmaking while maintaining production capacity." Zhang Chao, an analyst at Zhuochuang Information, believes that in the future, the economy of short process steelmaking is expected to strengthen, promoting the transformation of the production structure of the steel industry. (Lai Xin She)
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