Hyundai Steel has announced that it will be developing Hy-Cube, a carbon-neutral steel manufacturing system based on its own electric furnace,1) and switching to a hydrogen-based steel production system by 2030 to manufacture low-carbon high-grade plates.
The objective is to lead the electric furnace industry in carbon neutrality through a novel approach to electric furnace production technology.
Hy-Cube (Hy3, Hyundai Hydrogen Hybrid) is the name of Hyundai Steel’s innovative hydrogen-based process fusion steel production system.
The foundation of Hy-Cube technology is the “Hy-Arc,” a breakthrough electric furnace developed from the conventional electric furnace process of melting scrap iron to produce molten iron. Hy-Arc is capable of melting iron raw materials, eliminate impurities, and add additives.
In this new concept electric furnace, scrap iron, molten iron (produced in a blast furnace), and DRI (direct reduced iron2)) are utilized to reduce carbon emissions and manufacture high-quality sheet materials, such as vehicle steel sheets.
Hy-Cube, which was created through the company’s “synergy between the blast furnace and electric furnace sectors,” is capable of flexibly responding to carbon reduction tasks in terms of raw materials, processes, and products.
Based on this adaptability, Hyundai Steel intends to design a new electric furnace-centered process and a comprehensive production system that not only cuts carbon emissions but also considers products and markets.
In addition to improving the existing process to reduce carbon emissions in stages through the conversion of low-carbon raw materials and renewable energy, the company’s policy is to promote a “two-track strategy” to produce low-carbon, high-quality sheet materials by introducing a “new electric furnace (Hy-Arc)” that can perform all the functions of blast furnaces, revolving furnaces and electric furnaces.
“The goal is not only to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during production, but also to deliver high-quality goods to a carbon-neutral market which could not have been manufactured with conventional electric furnaces,” a Hyundai Steel official stated. “We will work diligently, in collaboration and solidarity with domestic steelmakers.”
※ Carbon-neutral Production System
1) Electric furnace: A facility that produces molten iron by melting scrap iron using the arc discharge generated from high-voltage electrodes.
2) Direct reduced iron: An alternative iron solidified by heating iron ore below its melting point and infusing it with carbon monoxide and hydrogen.