An electric arc furnace at Hyundai Steel’s steel mill in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province / Courtesy of Hyundai Steel
Hyundai Steel has begun mass production of low-emission steel sheets that cut carbon emissions by more than 20 percent compared with products made solely through conventional blast furnace processes, as the company steps up efforts to meet tightening environmental regulations.
According to the steelmaker Wednesday, it has successfully commercialized the world’s first hybrid process that combines molten iron produced by an electric arc furnace (EAF) with that from a blast furnace, leveraging its accumulated expertise in both technologies.
Hyundai Steel has been conducting stability and quality verification tests at its steel mill in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, since April 2023 ahead of operating the hybrid EAF-blast furnace process and entered full-scale mass production this month.
The company has completed grade certification for 25 steel products manufactured using the new process, including two types of low-emission steel sheets that recently entered mass production. It plans to secure certification for an additional 28 products within the year, expanding the total to 53 certified grades.
The introduction of the low-emission steel mass production system aligns with Hyundai Motor Group’s broader carbon reduction roadmap.
Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to begin applying low-emission steel materials to selected models produced in Korea and Europe starting this year. In response, Hyundai Steel will supply low-emission steel sheets for major automotive steel products delivered to relevant plants and gradually expand both the range of applicable grades and supply volumes.
The company also aims to widen the use of low-emission steel to global automakers and auto parts suppliers, as well as to thick steel plates for offshore wind power substructures. It plans to strengthen market competitiveness by securing various global certifications and conducting extensive testing.
“Our goal is to proactively respond to global customers’ growing demand for carbon reduction and actively support the carbon-neutral transition of key demand industries, including automotive and energy steel,” a Hyundai Steel official said.
