Steel giants look into carbon capture hubs across Asia
[SINGAPORE] A consortium of global steelmakers and energy majors has launched a pre-feasibility study on building carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) hubs across Asia, marking a rare cross-industry collaboration in one of the region’s most carbon-intensive sectors.
The study will explore potential CCUS applications in hard-to-abate sectors, namely the steel, cement, and chemical sectors. It will also assess the development of shared infrastructure to capture, store or repurpose carbon dioxide emissions at scale.
The group comprises steelmakers ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel), JSW Steel, Hyundai Steel, and value chain players BHP, Chevron, and Mitsui & Co. The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Aug 7 to formalise the partnership and commence the study.
“This is the first industry-led CCUS hub study of its kind in Asia,” said the consortium in a joint statement on Monday (Aug 11), adding that the study will deliver conceptual development strategies, cost and schedule estimates, and commercialisation pathways for multiple hubs.
Australia’s engineering services firm Hatch has been appointed project management officer, working with technical advisers including the Global CCS Institute, McDaniel, and Pace CCS. The study is expected to conclude by the end of 2026, with findings to be made public.
The consortium will also examine regulatory and policy conditions needed to enable cross-border carbon dioxide transport and storage – an issue that remains a sticking point for the regional deployment of CCUS.
Asia is home to over a billion tonnes of annual blast furnace steel production, much of it relatively new and emissions-heavy. Retrofitting existing capacity with CCUS could help buy time while newer low-carbon production routes scale up, noted Dr Ben Ellis, vice-president of marketing sustainability at BHP.
Open to additional industry players to join, the consortium is prioritising the study of scalable utilisation and storage solutions that can enable broader adoption of CCUS, especially in regions with regulatory hurdles and limited market maturity, based on the joint statement.
