BHP, Japan's JFE sign low-emissions steel raw materials technology project

London — Miner BHP said Feb. 10 it will invest as much as $15 million together with Japan's JFE Steel Corp. on lower-emissions steelmaking technology through the blast furnace process, which is used widely globally.

BHP and JFE Steel signed a memorandum of understanding to "jointly study technologies and pathways capable of making material reductions to greenhouse gas emissions from the integrated steelmaking process," BHP said in a statement. The accord follows BHP's MOU in November with major steelmaker China Baowu to share knowledge and invest in low-emissions initiatives.

BHP mines iron ore and coking coal in Australia and expects existing integrated steelmaking production to target lower carbon emissions by moving through operational optimization and transition, before reaching low or no carbon intensity with new technology.

According to the International Energy Agency, the integrated blast furnace steel route using coking coal accounts for 2.2 mt of carbon per ton of crude steel in direct and indirect emissions by process, while steel from electric arc furnaces melting ferrous scrap have total reference emissions of 300 kg per ton of steel.

"The JFE-BHP partnership will focus on the role of Australian raw materials to help to increase efficiency and reduce emissions from the blast furnace and direct reduced iron (DRI) steel making routes," it said. "The partnership intends to study the properties of raw materials, with focus on specific areas such as iron ore pretreatment, use of enhanced iron ore lump, high quality coke and DRI, required to decrease iron and steelmaking emissions and support a transition to a low carbon future."

Steel producers in Europe such as Thyssenkrupp, Voestalpine, SSAB and Liberty Steel have published plans to adapt blast furnace works using standalone and hybrid DRI and electric arc furnaces, with greater usage of DRI and hot briquetted iron, as well as ferrous scrap. The plans may require investments in renewable energy and hydrogen supplies, as well as energy infrastructure for EAFs and hydrogen production and transportation.

$15 million investment

BHP said it plans to invest up to $15 million over a five-year partnership with JFE Steel, the second largest steelmaker in Japan and a unit of steel and engineering group JFE Holdings. JFE Steel, which operates blast furnaces through Japan, intends to cut its carbon emissions by 20% in fiscal 2030 from 2013 and achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible after 2050, facilitated by technological advancements, the company said in a Feb. 10 statement on the partnership with BHP.

The MOU builds on a existing strong technical research and collaboration between the two companies, leading to sharing knowledge on reducing emissions across the steel value chain, BHP added.

BHP and JFE's joint work around technological improvement to increase sustainability will help support Japan's carbon neutral target by 2050, BHP Chief Commercial Officer Vandita Pant said in the statement.

JFE Steel highlighted steel raw materials processing technology as extremely important in the research and development toward carbon neutrality.

"We have a long history working closely together with BHP collaborating to study raw material utilization technology and mine development," JFE Steel President Yoshihisa Kitano said in the statement. "It is very significant for us to be able to work together with BHP towards reduction of CO2 emissions, which is an extremely important agenda for the steel making sector."

BHP said its investment will be funded under its $400 million Climate Investment Program, which was set up in 2019 to coordinate and prioritize projects, partnerships, R&D and venture investments to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

BHP's investment program will invest in carbon offsets and support development of technologies with the highest potential to impact change. BHP Ventures, a subsidiary of the world's largest miner, invested in Boston Metal, which seeks to develop steelmaking using molten oxide electrolysis with iron ore.