Rival miners Rio Tinto BHP Group said on Friday they would jointly investigate the development of a pilot project to decarbonise steelmaking that could be commissioned as early as 2027.
The production of steel, a key material for infrastructure and the net-zero energy transition, currently contributes around 8% of global carbon emissions. Under a new framework agreement, Rio, BHP and BlueScope will consolidate the work each party has completed to date, it said. If successful, this would be the first partnership between the two global miners on a downstream project.
However, the pilot would need to run for several years, so commercial production was unlikely before the 2030s, she added.The pilot facility would be intended to test and optimise production of iron from the ESF, a type of furnace being Estimates show that reductions of more than 80% in CO2 emission intensity are potentially achievable processing Pilbara iron ores through a DRI-ESF pathway, the companies said in the joint statement.