The Department of Ecology and Environment of China’s Hebei Province issued its Implementation Plan for Synergistic Efficiency of Pollution and Carbon Reduction on February 7, stating that the consumption of coal in the province will be reduced by 10 percent by the end of 2025 compared to the end of 2020, and will decrease further during the 2026-2030 period.
At the same time, Hebei Province will strictly implement a capacity replacement policy, and gradually decrease the number of independent sintering enterprises and hot rolling enterprises. Meanwhile, by 2025 blast furnaces below 1,000 cubic meters, step sintering machines and pellet shaft furnaces will be completely eliminated. Furthermore, Hebei Province will promote the transformation of long-process steelmaking via blast furnaces and converters into short-process steelmaking via electric arc furnaces (EAF). By the end of 2025, EAFs will account for 5-10 percent of overall steelmaking in Hebei Province.