South Korean steel company POSCO announced that it has completed construction of a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Gwangyang steel plant in South Jeolla Province and is preparing to begin large-scale production of low-carbon steel as part of its decarbonization strategy.
The new facility has an annual production capacity of 2.5 million tons, making it the world's largest electric arc furnace. oven in South Korea. Construction began in February 2024 and required an investment of about 600 billion won (US$396.7 million).
The EAF is expected to significantly reduce emissions
POSCO said the investments were made to comply with domestic and international decarbonization policies and in response to growing customer demand for low-carbon steel products.
According to the company, the electric arc furnace can reduce carbon emissions. 75 percent compared to the conventional blast furnace steelmaking process by using scrap as raw material.
The company is developing a hybrid steelmaking technology
The company is also developing a refining process called "mixing technology" that combines molten pig iron produced in blast furnaces with steel produced in electric arc furnaces. POSCO said this approach aims to maintain the quality of high-grade steel products while reducing carbon emissions.
The company aims to begin mass production of automotive steel sheets and electrical steel using this technology by 2030. To achieve this goal, POSCO is developing additional technologies, including scrap sorting and classification systems, as well as more precise control of steel composition during refining. The company has identified high-quality EAF steel as one of its eight strategic products and has established an integrated design team focused on research, production and sales.
HyREX development continues
POSCO also plans to develop transitional decarbonization technologies within its existing production system, including blast furnace hydrogen injection furnace, top-blow converters and carbon reduction technologies. The company noted increased regulatory pressure related to carbon emissions,
