On August 28, 2025, Anshan Iron & Metal Group (Ansteel) celebrated a game-changing achievement: they fired up the world’s first hydrogen-based fluidized mattress ironmaking pilot plant powered solely by renewable vitality in Bayuquan, Liaoning Province. With a 10,000-ton annual capability and hitting a candy 95% metallization charge, it’s proof that near-zero-carbon metal isn’t simply lab discuss anymore.
Reinventing Metal with Inexperienced Hydrogen
Conventional metal mills depend on coking coal and blast furnaces—one massive purpose steelmaking shoulders about 8% of worldwide CO₂ emissions. Ansteel’s twist? Ditch the coal. They’re utilizing inexperienced hydrogen—made on-site through wind and photo voltaic electrolysis—to cut back iron ore in a fluidized mattress reactor. No coke, no sintering, simply cleaner iron prepared for electrical arc furnaces (EAF) or additional refining.
How It Works
Right here’s the crux: water electrolysis splits H₂O into hydrogen and oxygen utilizing clear energy. The inexperienced hydrogen then dives right into a scorching reactor, pulling oxygen out of iron ore pellets and yielding sponge iron with as much as a 90% CO₂ minimize in comparison with blast furnaces. That 95% metallization determine means the direct diminished iron (DRI) meets or beats business specs—suppose superior metal grades for electrical automobiles.
Strategic Ripples
This pilot isn’t only a flashy demo; it’s Ansteel’s strategic play to again China’s 2060 carbon neutrality objective and snag early-mover bragging rights within the budding inexperienced metal sector. With automakers and builders attempting to find low-carbon supplies, the plan is to ramp as much as a 500,000-ton per yr industrial demo subsequent.
Bayuquan’s Industrial Evolution
Often called the “Cradle of China’s Metal Trade,” Anshan has iron ore and coal in spades. However Bayuquan is flipping the script—reworking from coal-heavy manufacturing to a hub for sustainable vitality and hydrogen metallurgy. Native deep-water ports and energy grids made it a no brainer to fit this pilot into current plant footprints.
Broader Impacts
If hydrogen manufacturing-based DRI goes international, steelmakers may churn out near-zero-carbon merchandise for infrastructure, autos, and home equipment. That shift will shake up coal communities and demand huge investments in electrolysis and hydrogen infrastructure. However pilots like Bayuquan are fueling coverage momentum and market confidence in industrial decarbonization.
Trying Forward
This pilot is a turning level: inexperienced hydrogen in steelmaking isn’t any pipe dream anymore. As electrolyzer prices tumble and grid renewables develop, we’ll see extra demos—and finally business rollouts. Will Ansteel’s Bayuquan blueprint set the worldwide tempo? Solely time—and the underside line—will inform.
About Ansteel
Based in 1916, Anshan Iron & Metal Group stands tall as certainly one of China’s largest state-owned metal producers. In 2025, they launched this landmark hydrogen-based DRI pilot, underscoring their push towards low-carbon metallurgy and sustainable vitality.
