China Baowu Steel Group

This award recognises the world’s largest steel producer for translating a decade of hydrogen research into the first million-tonne near-zero‑carbon steel production line, which reached full operational status on 23 December 2025 at its Zhanjiang plant. The facility replaces traditional coke with hydrogen as the primary reducing agent in a hydrogen‑based shaft furnace, combined with high‑efficiency electric furnaces powered by renewable electricity. Compared with conventional blast‑furnace routes, the process cuts carbon emissions by 50–80 %, removing more than 3.14 million tonnes of CO₂ annually – equivalent to the annual sequestration of roughly 200 million mature trees. By integrating China Baowu’s proprietary HyRESP technology into a fully short‑process route for high‑grade flat steel, the line supplies the automotive and high‑end manufacturing sectors with material that carries a near‑zero carbon footprint, directly addressing emerging carbon border tariffs. The 2025 commissioning of the Zhanjiang line anchors Baowu’s science‑based decarbonisation roadmap: peaking emissions, cutting CO₂ by 30 % by 2035 and reaching full carbon neutrality by 2050.

Throughout the year, the group expanded its low‑carbon portfolio by partnering with Finland’s Rotoboost to deploy turquoise‑hydrogen systems for steel and aluminium, and deepened the Baowu‑Monash‑BHP Industry Knowledge Centre for Low Carbon Metallurgy. By proving that hydrogen‑based steelmaking can be scaled to commercial tonnage and that a century‑old industry can decarbonise without losing its global competitiveness, China Baowu Steel Group sets a benchmark for industrial decarbonisation that other heavy emitters must follow. For demonstrating that scale and deep decarbonisation are not in conflict, China Baowu Steel Group receives this recognition.