China sets 2028 energy efficiency deadline for steel, aluminum sectors

The 2026-2028 roadmap, issued on June 15, requires capacity operating below benchmark efficiency levels to be largely eliminated, while the share of capacity meeting leading efficiency standards must rise by an average of 20 percentage points across key industrial sectors. Steel and aluminum sectors are central in the nation's latest push to meet its 2030 climate goals.

For the steel sector, the plan promotes energy-saving and carbon-reduction retrofits to blast furnaces, basic oxygen furnaces and other key processes, as well as waste heat recovery and residual power generation upgrades.

It encourages the application of advanced technologies including large-proportion pellet smelting in blast furnaces, the promotion of interface technologies such as hot metal one-pot delivery, and the orderly deployment of hydrogen metallurgy.

Improvements to auxiliary equipment including motors, fans, boilers and air compressors are to be accelerated. The plan also calls for accelerated upgrades to top-charging coke ovens with a chamber height below 6m (or below 5.5m for stamp-charging ovens), and pelletizing units with an annual capacity under 1.2 million tonnes.

For the aluminum sector, the focus shifts to electrolytic cell retrofits, coupled with better recovery and cascade use of waste heat from flue gas. Technologies promoted include new stabilized current insulation cells, graphitized cathodes and high-quality anodes.

Under the plan, faster upgrades to motors, fans, air compressors and transformers are also required. It also calls for accelerated upgrades to prebaked anode cells below 300kA and independent carbon anode projects with an annual capacity under 150,000 tonnes.

Facilities that fail to meet the energy efficiency standards by the end of 2028 will be forced out of the market, the document adds.

The nationwide initiative aims to save 100 million tonnes of coal and cut carbon dioxide emissions by 200 million tonnes by 2028, the NDRC notes.

To support the push, the government will provide grants covering 20% of total investment for eligible retrofit projects, with priority given to those achieving leading efficiency levels after upgrades.

Provincial-level authorities may impose a surcharge of up to Yuan 0.1 per kilowatt-hour ($0.02/kWh) on electricity prices for high-emission plants, with the revenue allocated to offset grid system operating costs. Verified emission cuts from retrofits can offset carbon allowances for new or expanded high-emission projects in the same region, the document says.

Written by Tiffany Hou, houtianhui@mysteel.com

Edited by Russ McCulloch, russ.mcculloch@mysteel.com