Global miner BHP Group Ltd [BHP:AU], an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and metals company, and Chinese steel company HBIS Group Co Ltd [HEBEEZ:CH], one of the largest steelmakers in China, have agreed to trial carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies at the Chinese firm’s steel mills, as reported by Reuters on March 27. The project will develop and test technologies that reduce carbon dioxide emissions during steel production. HBIS will also test capturing CO2 to create saleable products and store CO2 in waste slag. The trials will be funded by a USD15m investment over three years, as proposed in a memorandum of understanding signed by the firms in 2021.

China is the world’s largest steel producer. Its steel industry is responsible for around 15% of total carbon emissions across the country and over 60% of the global steel industry’s emissions. HBIS has outlined a low-carbon development plan in which the company aims to reduce its carbon emissions by over 10% in 2025, more than 30% from the peak in 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as stated in a company statement. BHP also committed to reducing operational GHG emissions by at least 30% from the 2020 level by 2030 and achieving carbon net zero by 2050. 

Sources: 

https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/bhp-trial-carbon-capture-with-chinese-steel-firm-hbis-2023-03-27/

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3128151/chinas-steel-mills-must-improve-efficiency-if-theyre-cut

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-steel-hbis-emissions/chinese-steelmaker-hbis-aims-to-reach-carbon-emissions-peak-in-2022-idUSKBN2B4200

https://www.bhp.com/sustainability/climate-change