近期，必和必拓与中国宝武在气候变化领域的合作迎来新的里程碑——作为推动钢铁行业脱碳的重要一步，产自皮尔巴拉地区的必和必拓铁矿石成功用于商业规模的直接还原铁（Direct Reduced Iron, DRI）生产试验。

此项试验于2024年末在中国宝武旗下的宝钢湛江钢铁有限公司（湛江钢铁）开展，采用了湛江钢铁的国内首套百万吨/年氢基直接还原竖炉。在试验过程中，不同比例的必和必拓铁矿粉用于造球生产球团，随后在竖炉中还原成DRI，该竖炉还原气中氢气含量约为70%，相关试验结果证明了配加产自皮尔巴拉地区的必和必拓铁矿石进行商业规模DRI生产的可行性。

试验所生产的DRI产品大部分用于同厂的商业规模转炉（BOF）炼钢试验，以替代高炉铁水和废钢。根据试验数据估算，该DRI生产过程的CO₂排放强度较高炉铁水可降低约50%。

此外，利用中国宝武中央研究院的500kg级电熔炉（Electric Smelting Furnace, ESF），该DRI首次用于生铁生产试验。这些试验的成功不仅推动了DRI-ESF钢铁冶炼工艺概念的发展，也进一步验证了皮尔巴拉铁矿石的适用性。在使用“绿氢”和可再生电力的条件下，该工艺有望减少80%以上的CO₂排放或实现“近零排放”强度（与传统高炉流程相比）^[1]。

2020年，必和必拓与中国宝武签署了旨在加强气候变化领域合作的谅解备忘录（MoU）。此后，双方合作推进了多个项目，包括上述商业规模DRI试验项目以及共建低碳冶金知识中心等。

必和必拓市场可持续发展副总裁Ben Ellis指出：“中国宝武是必和必拓的长期重要合作伙伴，我们对双方已取得的合作成果感到非常高兴，这不仅有助于我们实现2030年目标，也验证了必和必拓皮尔巴拉铁矿石用于商业规模DRI生产的可行性。双方进一步展现了必和必拓铁矿石在“近零排放”工艺路线中的长期应用前景，我们期待与合作伙伴共同努力，将这些宝贵经验分享给整个钢铁行业。”

中国宝武低碳冶金创新中心常务副主任毛晓明博士表示：“作为全球最大的钢铁企业，中国宝武致力于积极推动合作伙伴关系，探索并应用有助于减少钢铁生产CO₂排放的低碳技术。我们与必和必拓取得的阶段性成果，为钢铁行业低碳发展树立了合作典范。”

湛江钢铁副总经理温盾表示：“创新始终是湛江钢铁核心竞争力的重要一环。必和必拓的皮尔巴拉铁矿石在DRI商业规模生产试验的成功应用，拓展了DRI工艺的原料可选范围，为该技术未来的广泛应用前景创造了条件。”

左：温盾先生（中国宝武），中：Ben Ellis博士（必和必拓），右：毛晓明博士（中国宝武）

Left: Mr Wen Dun (China Baowu), Middle: Dr. Ben Ellis (BHP), Right: Dr Mao Xiaoming (China Baowu)

[1] 根据国际能源署（IEA）的定义以及《责任钢（ResponsibleSteel）国际标准2.0版》执行的标准（即脱碳进展4级“近零排放”达标临界值），“近零排放”是指对于100%基于铁矿石（即不使用废钢）的钢铁生产，每生产一吨粗钢产生的二氧化碳当量为0.40吨。国际能源署（2022年），《实现七国集团成员国重工业部门净零排放》，国际能源署，巴黎，使用许可：知识共享署名4.0国际许可协议，该报告还陈述了排放强度计算的界限范围（包括与上游排放相关的界限范围）。

BHP and China Baowu celebrated successful commercial-scale DRI trials using BHP’s Pilbara iron ores

BHP and China Baowu recently celebrated a milestone under their climate change partnership supporting steelmaking decarbonisation – BHP’s Pilbara iron ores were successfully trialed for Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) production at commercial scale.

The trials were performed at China Baowu’s Baosteel Zhanjiang Iron & Steel Co., ltd (Zhanjiang Steel) in late 2024 using its 1Mtpa hydrogen-based DRI Shaft Furnace, which is the first of its size in China. During the trials, BHP iron ore fines, at different blending ratios, were pelletised before being converted to DRI in the Shaft Furnace with 70% hydrogen in the reducing gas, demonstrating the use of BHP Pilbara iron ores as a blend material suitable for commercial DRI production.

The resulting DRI was mostly consumed in a commercial scale Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) at the same site, displacing hot metal from the blast furnace (BF) and scrap. The DRI production had an estimated 50% lower CO₂ emission intensity than the blast furnace hot metal (as calculated from the trial data).

In another first, as part of the trials, samples of the DRI were used by China Baowu in tests for pig iron production using its 500kg electric smelting furnace (ESF) at its Central Research Institute. The successful tests contributed towards the concept of the DRI-ESF steelmaking pathway and the suitability of Pilbara iron ores, a pathway with potential for >80% CO₂ emission reduction (compared to conventional blast furnace steelmaking) or ‘near zero emissions’ intensity¹ when ‘green hydrogen’ and renewable electricity can be feasibly sourced.

In 2020, BHP and China Baowu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration in relation to climate change. Since then, both parties have jointly progressed multiple initiatives, including the above DRI trials and the establishment of a Low Carbon Metallurgy Industry Knowledge Centre.

Ben Ellis, BHP’s Vice President of Marketing Sustainability, said: “It is fantastic to see the progress we’ve made together with our long-term and valued partner, China Baowu, towards our 2030 goal and enabling the long-term use of our Pilbara iron ores in potential ‘near zero emissions’ pathways by demonstrating their suitability for use in commercial DRI production. Together with our partners, we also look forward to sharing the learnings with the broader steel industry.”

China Baowu’s Low Carbon Metallurgy Innovation Center’s Executive Deputy Director, Dr Mao Xiaoming, said: “As the largest steelmaker in the world, China Baowu aims to play an active role in working with our partners to identify and implement low carbon technologies to reduce the CO₂ emissions from the steelmaking. The milestones we’ve made with BHP are very good examples for how partnerships can support the steelmaking decarbonisation.”

Wen Dun, Zhanjiang Steel’s Vice President, said “Innovation is always one of the core competitiveness of Zhanjiang Steel. The successful commercial-scale trials using BHP’s Pilbara iron ores largely extended the raw material options for DRI technologies, supporting a potential widespread use of the technologies in the future.” 

¹ ‘Near zero emissions’ for steelmaking’ is 0.40 tonnes of CO2-e per tonne of crude steel for 100 per cent ore-based production (no scrap), as defined by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and implemented in Responsible Steel International Standard V2.0 (‘near zero’ performance level 4 threshold). IEA (2022), Achieving Net Zero Heavy Industry Sectors in G7 Members, IEA, Paris, License: CC BY 4.0, which also describes the boundary for the emissions intensity calculation (including in relation to upstream emissions).