The Chinese Society for Metals (CSM) has held a signing ceremony regarding cooperation on the implementation of ecological and economical arc furnace (ECOARC) technology with JP Steel Plantech, a leading Japanese steel plant engineering manufacturer. At the ceremony, Yin Ruiyu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering stated that Chinese EAF-based producers have good development opportunities as China will have rich scrap reserves in the years after 2020, and suggested that Chinese enterprises should prepare for this new situation.
Mr Yin said that EAF output only accounted for 7.3 percent of China’s overall crude steel output in 2016 compared to the international average of 25.3 percent. In particular, EAFs accounted for 62.7 percent of overall crude steel output in the US, while accounting for 22.2 percent and 30.7 percent in Japan and South Korea, respectively. He said that China’s scrap reserves will amount to 200-300 million mt by 2025, while rising to 320-350 million mt by 2030.
Wang Xinjiang, secretary-general of the CSM, said that in 2017, due to elimination of low-grade construction steel, the steel industry in China has been characterized by four main features, namely, rising finished steel prices, increasing finished steel output, a downtrend in scrap prices and rapid growth in newly-added EAF capacity. Meanwhile, the production cuts implemented in the winter season are mostly for blast furnaces, while EAF output based on scrap will not be affected. As a result, some EAFs idled previously due to higher costs have resumed production. Mr. Wang predicted that EAF output will increase by 30 million mt in 2017 and will indicate a bigger rise of 50 million mt in 2018. Accordingly, 10 percent of the overall Chinese crude steel output is expected to be from EAFs in 2018. Accordingly, he said, the application of ECOARC technology will offer a unique advantage for the development of a green steel industry.