POSCO is strengthening its collaboration with global raw material suppliers to transition to a decarbonized production system.
On September 3, POSCO signed a Hydrogen Reduction Steelmaking Collaboration Agreement (HyREX Collaboration Agreement) with Australian mining company BHP at its Cheongsong facility in Pohang. The two companies will work together to validate the commercial technology of POSCO's HyREX hydrogen reduction steelmaking process.
BHP has been a supplier of iron ore, coking coal, and nickel to POSCO. Under this agreement, POSCO plans to utilize BHP's iron ore to verify the performance of the HyREX technology in various raw material environments, thereby strengthening the foundation for technology commercialization.
HyREX is a technology that produces molten iron using hydrogen as a reducing agent instead of coal. POSCO will verify whether the HyREX technology operates stably under actual raw material conditions and will test the process performance changes based on the characteristics and quality of the iron ore to derive optimal raw material conditions.
Through this collaboration, BHP will validate the usability of its iron ore in next-generation low-carbon steel processes. The two companies will share their expertise in hydrogen reduction steelmaking raw materials and explore possibilities for reducing Scope 3 carbon emissions during the raw material supply process.
This agreement is a concrete outcome of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last October, attended by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and POSCO Group Chairman Jeong In-hwa. It signifies an expansion of the partnership between the two countries beyond resource trade into the R&D sector.
Um Kyung-geun, head of POSCO's Technology Research Institute, stated at the signing ceremony, "This partnership is significant as it prepares the future of low-carbon steelmaking together with global raw material suppliers. Starting with BHP, we will expand our collaboration with global raw material companies to accelerate the development of low-carbon steel technology."
Ben Ellis, Vice President of BHP's Marketing and Sustainability division, remarked, "This project is a continuation of our long-standing innovative collaboration in steelmaking technology with POSCO. We believe BHP can play a crucial role in developing new technologies and pathways to support our customers' decarbonization efforts in steelmaking, contributing to the utilization of Australian iron ore in low-carbon steel technologies."
Meanwhile, POSCO Group Chairman Jeong In-hwa is actively working to maintain cooperation with Australia, having attended the 47th Korea-Australia Economic Cooperation Committee annual joint meeting in Adelaide the previous day as the Korean co-chair.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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