Rio Tinto and Shougang Group, one of the world’s top 10 steel producers, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote research, design and implementation of low-carbon solutions for the steel value chain. The MoU’s focus areas include low-carbon sintering technology, blast furnace (BF) and basic oxygen furnace (BOF) optimization , and carbon capture and utilization (CCU).

This partnership with Shougang underlines Rio Tinto’s strategic commitment to partner with customers on steel decarbonization pathways and to invest in technologies that could deliver reductions in steelmaking carbon intensity.

Initial efforts will be focused on, but not limited to, BF slag heat recovery, BOF slag utilization , CCU and low-carbon sintering technology.

The MoU builds on the nearly 30-year relationship between Rio Tinto and Shougang as trade and technical partners. The two companies will work together, leveraging their respective strengths in research and development, technologies, processes, equipment, logistics and industry coordination to support their shared objectives of limiting the impacts of global climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

Around 70% of global steel is produced using the BF-BOF route, according to the World Steel Association

Founded in 1919, Shougang Group is one of China’s oldest industrial enterprises. Recently, Geely Auto gave Shougang its “Best Partner” award, making Shougang the only enterprise to hold this honor among more than 300 suppliers in Geely Auto’s car body business department.

Shougang is an important strategic partner of Geely Auto. Shougang supplies Geely Auto with mild steel, high-strength steel, ultra-high strength steel, hot-formed steel and other materials for whole vehicle interior and exterior panels, becoming its core supplier of internal and external panels.