Baowu, Rio Tinto ink deal to decarbonise steel value chain

The signing follows the recently announced $2 billion Western Range Joint Venture in the Pilbara region of Western Australia involving Rio Tinto and Baowu.

"Under the MoU, China Baowu and Rio Tinto plan to jointly advance specific decarbonisation projects, demonstrating their commitment to play a leading role in the industry's low-carbon transformation," according to the statement.

The projects include building a pilot-scale electric melter at one of Baowu's steel mills in China that will enable low-carbon steel making utilising Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) that has been produced from low and medium grade ores, and optimizing pelletisation technology for Australian ores as a feedstock for low-carbon shaft furnace-based direct reduction.

In addition, the pair will expand the development of Baowu's HyCROF technology, as well as together study opportunities for producing low-carbon iron in Western Australia.

"Rio Tinto and China Baowu are united in a commitment to accelerating the delivery of low-carbon solutions for the entire steel value chain. This MoU aims to address one of the biggest challenges faced by the industry – developing a low-carbon pathway for low-to-medium grade iron ores, which account for the vast majority of global iron ore supply," stated Rio Tinto's chief commercial officer Alf Barrios.

Baowu said the company is committed to working with Rio Tinto to jointly study and provide low-carbon and green comprehensive solutions for the steel value chain, help the low-carbon transformation and upgrade of the steel industry chain and support the world to address the challenge of climate change with pragmatic actions.

Rio Tinto and Baowu have a long history of collaboration, including project development in Australia and Guinea, new technology research and deployment and emissions reduction in steelmaking, the release noted.

Written by Rong Zhang, zhangronga@mysteel.com

Edited by Alyssa Ren, rentingting@mysteel.com