"Chinese steel is playing an increasingly important leadership role on the international stage. China always abides by relevant WTO rules and adheres to fair competition and cooperation on a global scale. The development experience of China's steel industry in recent years is a model worth learning for other countries and regions." On September 1, Edwin Basong, Director general of the World Steel Association, praised the performance of Chinese steel on the international stage in recent years in an interview with the reporter of China Metallurgical News. He believes that in the next 20 years, China Steel will be a leader to ensure the global steel industry to achieve stable and high-quality transformation development.
China has played an important leading role in carbon emission reduction in the blast furnace process "China's economic development has entered a new stage. At this stage, we will see steel production and demand more stable or even decline, which is a natural development law. Of course, the steel industry is not a sunset industry, and global steel demand will continue to grow in the next 20 years, but the power source of growth will shift. Relevant data predict that by 2050, the annual global steel demand is expected to increase by 200 million tons to 300 million tons. It is important for us to ensure that the growth of steel demand in these regions is balanced with the growth of new capacity. And at the same time, carbon reduction." "Mr Basson said. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions in the steel production process is a common topic that the global steel industry continues to face and strengthen research in recent years. So, how is the low-carbon development of the global steel industry at this stage? Can the old song often "play" often "new"? "Over the past few years, we have seen the implementation of new technologies and new investments in different parts of the world. I am personally very optimistic that very soon the international community will see the benefits of the carbon reduction work being done by the steel industry around the world." Basong said that the World Steel Association forecast data show that between 2030 and 2040, in the case of production and demand growth, the global steel industry's carbon dioxide emissions will be stable, and may even decline. Chinese steel will play a key role in this process. In fact, China has already played an important leading role in reducing CO2 emissions from blast furnace processes. "Some countries and regions believe that we only need to use electric furnaces to make steel to completely solve the problem of CO2 emissions. That view is wrong. We also had to find the right solution for the blast furnace production route. China and others are doing very meaningful work in this area, and India is also trying to implement new ideas. In fact, we are beginning to see positive progress in new ways of reducing CO2 emissions from blast furnace processes." 'he said. "China's steel production and demand are close to half of the world's total. As a result, China will provide nearly half of the effective solutions for the global steel industry, and possibly more. Moreover, China has a newer and more powerful technological stockpile than most Western countries. At the same time, China is adept at developing new technologies and finding new solutions in different ways. In addition to China, we have also observed similar developments in South Korea and Japan. I think from a technology research and development point of view, this region will play an important role in how to produce steel with lower CO2 emissions." "Mr Basson said.
Building a more resilient global industrial value chain Challenges and opportunities to enhance the resilience and security of the industrial chain is an inevitable requirement for accelerating the construction of a new development pattern. At present, the global economic development is still facing many uncertainties, the steel industry as a global industry, to build a safe and stable, smooth and efficient, open and inclusive, mutually beneficial and win-win global industrial chain system is of Paramount importance. For now, the challenge of building a more resilient global industrial value chain is twofold, according to Basson. One is the ever-changing external environment. Basong said that when steel materials are circulated around the world, it inevitably involves cross-country or regional laws and regulations, labor supply and other factors. Under the geopolitical haze, the "global village" as a whole concept is increasingly dispersed and independent, resulting in fragmentation of the value chain, making the global circulation of steel materials difficult. The development of the global steel industry requires as fair an international trading environment as possible. For the most part, the steel industry has had a relatively level playing field over the past few decades. However, in recent years, the rise of anti-globalization has led to the fragmentation of the value chain, resulting in one after another international trade disputes around steel products. Effective international negotiations and consultations are one solution to this challenge. Second, deep carbon reduction. Basson said that carbon reduction has a profound impact on the global steel value chain. The low-carbon transformation of the steel industry in different countries and regions faces different challenges, depending on the local raw material use and energy supply, so it must reduce carbon according to local conditions. There are challenges and opportunities. The low-carbon transition projects being launched around the world will create a large amount of investment demand, which will attract a large amount of capital into the chain. Research published by the Boston Consulting Group shows that the global steel industry may need $3 trillion of investment to meet carbon reduction targets by 2050. "The steel industry is going through a very meaningful and complex period ahead. We must support the WTO's continued role as the global free trade police, ensuring that steel and steel can flow in a rules-based and relatively fair environment. In addition, promoting the formation of uniform carbon emissions accounting methods and standards will help to create a more equitable international trading environment, and will not put one party at a disadvantage because of different accounting standards between different countries and regions. Wsa is currently working with the WTO and steel producers around the world to promote the development of a common CO2 accounting method and accounting standards to help materials move across countries and regions as easily and quickly as possible." 'he said.
"At present, the relevant hydrogen reduction process that can produce low-carbon steel has been tested in the laboratory environment. However, the premise of large-scale commercial application of such processes is stable and secure supply, transportation and storage. On top of that, there is the accompanying question of whether the large amounts of energy needed to produce hydrogen are clean. Using fossil fuels to produce hydrogen releases more carbon dioxide, making it difficult to use hydrogen as a green reducing agent in the steel production process. Therefore, not only the steel industry, but also other industries that use hydrogen instead of fossil energy, need to upgrade the clean power energy supply system quickly enough on a global scale, which is the most important issue for the industry to focus on and solve. "In fact, China has shown strong leadership in this regard as well." He introduced that the International Energy Agency has pointed out in the "Renewable Energy 2023" report that China is the global leader in the field of renewable energy, but also the main driving force for the rapid and large-scale growth of global renewable energy. In the past decade, China's newly added clean energy power generation has accounted for more than half of the total increase in electricity consumption, and the annual installed capacity of renewable energy in China has accounted for more than 40% of the world's new installed capacity of renewable energy. "For some countries and regions, it is difficult to achieve both abundant solar energy and abundant wind energy, and seasonal issues are also important factors." Therefore, we still need to work hard to find suitable alternatives. In this context, most countries are interested in nuclear energy. However, some countries, including Germany, are skeptical and opposed to nuclear-related solutions. The question is, if nuclear energy is developed, how to control its use only for related energy alternative solutions, and not for new weapons. It is still being discussed internationally and it may take a few more years to make any real progress." It is worth mentioning that small modular reactors (SMRS) can replace aging fossil fuel power plants to meet a wider range of flexible power generation needs, and relevant research is currently advancing, and may be commercial-scale applications within 10 years. "I think this will play a role in the steel industry looking for alternatives to fossil fuels." 'he said. "The issue of clean power energy supply has received a lot of attention from different industries. The steel industry needs to ensure it is up to date on what is happening in all of these industries and to support the emergence of new energy sources where it can. Once we have these sources of energy, we can more consistently use hydrogen as a reducing agent for low-carbon production." He concluded, "I personally believe that any steel producer must first ensure its competitive advantage on a global scale." Ensuring sustainable clean energy supply and mastering new energy utilization methods are conducive to maintaining its competitive advantage. In addition, the energy transition involved in the steel industry is likely to create new international value relationships, depending on the state of the energy base in specific countries and regions, which will ultimately affect the competitive advantage of the steel industry in each country."
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