China’s Anshan Iron & Steel Group (Angang/Ansteel) has achieved a breakthrough in low-carbon metallurgy after completing the full-process commissioning of its green power and green hydrogen-based fluidized bed ironmaking pilot line at its Bayuquan steelworks.
The pilot line, with a capacity of 10,000 tonnes/year, successfully produced direct reduced iron (DRI) with a metallization rate of 95% on 28 August, Kallanish notes.
The process reconstructs the ironmaking chain through green power hydrogen production to green hydrogen reduction, avoiding the carbon-intensive coking and sintering stages, and represents a shift from carbon metallurgy to hydrogen metallurgy, Angang introduced.
According to Angang, the project achieves electrolysis power consumption of no more than 4.3 kWh/Nm3 H2, with single-cell hydrogen production capacity reaching 1,500 Nm3/h. The fluidized bed technology shortens reduction time by more than 30% and prevents sticking issues, enabling continuous, safe, and efficient production of high-quality DRI.
The project’s output features low impurity levels, suitable for high-end applications such as electric vehicle steel, the steelmaker adds. Angang also plans to advance a 500,000t/y industrial-scale demonstration project, building a full green steel supply chain from hydrogen production to end-use.
According to the contract signed by Angang with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai University in July 2021, this project will use international advanced electrolyzed water technology to achieve large-scale and efficient production of green hydrogen (see Kallanish passim).
The project construction started in 2022 and was completed in 2024.
