BHP Group Ltd., the world’s biggest miner, and Chinese steel company HBIS Group Co. have agreed to set up a joint venture to trial carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies at the Chinese firm’s steel mills, the companies said yesterday.

The project will develop and test technologies that can be integrated into steel production processes to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from heavily-polluting mills.

The small pilot project will test technologies to capture waste carbon dioxide from steel mills before it escapes into the atmosphere. It would then use that C02 in industrial materials and the food industry.

HBIS will also pilot test options to use captured CO2 to produce saleable products and to store CO2 in waste slag, BHP said in a statement.

The trials will be funded by an investment of up to US$15 million over three years, as proposed in a memorandum of understanding signed by the firms in 2021.

The project with HBIS is part of Melbourne-based BHP’s push to address the huge carbon footprint of its iron ore and metallurgical coal businesses. While carbon capture, use and storage offers a possible route to cutting emissions from existing steel mills, it’s also expensive, technically difficult and yet to be tested at scale.

Steelmaking is one of the world’s most polluting activities, producing around 8% of global carbon emissions. China is the world’s top steel producer and its steel industry accounts for around 15% of total carbon emission across the country.

BHP and HBIS both aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, according to their websites.

Carbon capture is one way of reducing carbon emissions from steel. The industry is also looking to adopt hydrogen-based technology instead of traditional coal-fired furnaces. (SD-Agencies)