Tag Archives: Yu Yong

BHP and HBIS Group exploring alternate electrified pathways of steel production

Environmental, Mineral processing, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

BHP has signed an agreement with China’s HBIS Group Co Ltd (HBIS), one of the world’s largest steelmakers, to trial direct reduced iron (DRI) production and use of BHP iron ores in blends and progress a separate enhanced lump stage 2 trial aimed at lowering blast furnace (BF) carbon emissions.

To support the development of alternate electrified pathways of steel production for a wider range of iron ores, under this new agreement, the parties aim to trial commercial-scale DRI production using BHP iron ores in blends at HBIS’s newly commissioned DRI plant and then evaluate the performance of the DRI in downstream steelmaking steps. The DRI plant uses hydrogen-rich gas by-products in the steel works to convert ore into a metallic iron product that is further refined for steel.

Additionally, the enhanced lump stage 2 trial will focus on the existing BF steelmaking route, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions by increasing the use of direct charge lump and reducing the need for agglomerated feed which requires fossil fuel energy.

BHP’s latest collaboration agreement with HBIS will tap into the investment of up to $15 million over three years proposed by BHP and HBIS in an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2021.

BHP’s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “HBIS Group is a key partner to BHP and an industry leader in assessing and demonstrating a range of potential pathways to reduce GHG in steelmaking. Our work with customers like HBIS Group, together with our own actions, aims to accelerate progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions right along the value chain.”

BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said: “I am delighted to build on our existing partnership with HBIS Group, one of the world’s largest steelmakers and an important customer for BHP’s high quality Pilbara iron ores. DRI is an important element of our pathways to near-zero-emission steel production and in the decarbonisation journey of the steel industry.

“We are working with HBIS Group to demonstrate the use of BHP iron ores in DRI production trials. Together with other collaborations we have underway, including electric smelting furnace (ESF) development, the outcomes are expected to provide pathways to reduce carbon emissions from steel production using BHP’s products.”

This new agreement expands on the work streams laid out in the 2021 MoU between the parties and proceeding announced since; phase 1 research and development work announced in 2022 – in conjunction with HBIS and University of Science and Technology Beijing, a recently completed enhanced lump stage 1 trials at one of HBIS’s plants in Hebei province, and the most recent CCUS pilot trials announced in March this year.

HBIS Chairman, Yu Yong, said: “HBIS and BHP are aligned in their aims to help develop greener, low-carbon solutions that can reduce emissions in steelmaking, leveraging on our long-standing and trusted relationship that we have forged over several years. The agreement signed today is another landmark following our substantive cooperation in areas such as CCUS, and highlights HBIS’s efforts to build a low-carbon raw material supply chain.

“HBIS looks forward to strengthening our comprehensive strategic synergy with BHP in the sustainable development of steel in the years ahead.”

BHP and China’s HBIS Group Co Ltd expand partnership to CCUS tech trial

Coal technology, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BHP has signed an agreement for piloting of carbon capture and utilisation technology with China’s HBIS Group Co Ltd (HBIS), one of the world’s largest steelmakers and a major iron ore customer of BHP.

As part of this new project, HBIS and BHP will trial pilot-scale demonstrations of carbon capture and utilisation technologies at HBIS’ steel operations in China. The trial will develop and test technologies that can be integrated into steel production processes to reduce the CO2 emissions. These include Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption, VPSA, an alternative technology to capture the CO2, and two utilisation technologies (slag mineralisation and biological conversion to protein) to sequester the CO2.

In addition, BHP will support HBIS in developing and deploying absorptive desulphurisation at HBIS ZXHT Hydrogen Metallurgy Demonstration Project in Xuanhua, Hebei, intended to enable the utilisation of circa-60,000 t/y of captured CO2 from the direct reduced iron (DRI) process in the food or industrial sectors.

BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said: “Our multi-faceted partnership with HBIS will now include pilot testing of novel carbon capture technology at their operating sites in Hebei, and builds on the separate carbon capture trial with ArcelorMittal, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry and Mitsubishi Development, announced in October 2022. Hebei province accounts for around 20% of China’s reported steel production and represents one of the locations in which we aim to support future carbon capture, utilisation and storage initiatives. With our support, HBIS will also be pilot testing options for the utilisation of captured carbon dioxide for the production of saleable products and sequestration in waste slag.”

This new agreement expands on the work streams envisaged in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by BHP and HBIS in 2021, together with the Phase 1 research and development work announced in 2022 with HBIS and University of Science and Technology Beijing. In separate work under the MoU, BHP has also supported HBIS in Enhanced Lump trials, aimed at developing processes for improving direct feed iron ore lump use to achieve incremental reductions in carbon dioxide emissions intensity of steel production, at one of the steelmaker’s plants in Hebei province.

BHP’s latest collaboration agreement with HBIS will tap into the investment of up to $15 million over three years proposed by BHP and HBIS in the MoU signed in 2021.

HBIS Chairman, Yu Yong, said: “BHP is a globally renowned resource company and a long-term partner with HBIS with shared goals in relation to the development of technologies to abate carbon emissions in the steel-making sector. The signing of these projects is another milestone since the two parties’ ‘Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Collaboration in Climate Change’ signed in 2021, it starts a new journey in jointly exploring CCUS technology developments in the steel sector.”

Chairman Yu also stated: “HBIS is committed to being a leader, explorer, and practitioner in the industry’s transition to lower carbon emissions. CCUS has been identified as a breakthrough technology for reducing carbon emissions from steel and this has anchored CCUS technology as a key component in HBIS Group’s low-carbon technology roadmap. In the future, HBIS will continue to focus on the goal of jointly addressing climate change, deepening cooperation with industry value chain partners, adhering to the concept of sustainable development, and consistently cultivating and investing in the green and low-carbon field.”

BHP signs third low-carbon steelmaking partnership

Environmental, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , ,

BHP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s HBIS Group Co Ltd, one of the world’s largest steelmakers and a major customer of BHP’s iron ore, with the intention of investing up to $15 million over three years to jointly study and explore greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies and pathways.

Under the partnership, BHP and HBIS Group intend to collaborate on three priority areas: hydrogen-based direct reduction technology, the recycling and reuse of steelmaking slag, and the role of iron ore lump use to help reduce emissions from ironmaking and steelmaking.

The partnership aims to help both companies progress toward their climate change goals and support the steel industry’s role in helping to achieve China’s ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2060.

BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said: “We view decarbonisation of the steel industry as a complex puzzle that requires multiple technological solutions across the value chain over different time horizons. By forming this third low-carbon steelmaking partnership with HBIS Group, we are focusing on additional components, such as the role our products play in hydrogen-based steel production, that complement our other partnerships and support for endeavours in emissions reduction and capture from the traditional blast furnace route.”

In February, the mining major signed a similar MoU with leading Japanese steel producer, JFE Steel, while, in November 2020, BHP and China Baowu signed a pact that could see up to $35 million invested in tackling greenhouse gas emission reductions in the global steel industry.

BHP’s investment would be drawn from its $400 million Climate Investment Program, established in 2019 to support projects, partnerships, research and development to help reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “BHP has a long and trusted relationship with HBIS Group, and we are pleased to establish this strategic partnership to explore new ways to reduce emissions from steelmaking. Global decarbonisation will require collaboration and collective effort, and our work with partners such as HBIS Group will build on our own actions and help reduce emissions right through the value chain.”

Chairman of the World Steel Association, Party Secretary and Chairman of HBIS Group, Yu Yong, said: “The signing of the MoU fully demonstrates the two companies’ commitment to creating a green and low-carbon future across the value chain and a shared sense of responsibility to address climate change together, with a common vision to ‘contributing to a community of a shared future for mankind’. This partnership ushers in a new chapter for the two companies to deepen our strategic cooperation and to achieve collaborative development.”

BHP has also been active in other areas to reduce emissions, including awarding the world’s first LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carrier tender and the first LNG supply agreement for those vessels, and renewable energy supply contracts for BHP’s Queensland coal mines and Nickel West operations.