Zero-carbon electric arc furnace smelting seamless steel pipes leads the green revolution, and Baotou Steel's multi-dimensional layout seizes the low-carbon market
The carbon footprint of seamless steel pipes smelted by zero-carbon electric arc furnaces has dropped to 1.8tCO₂/t, a reduction of 70% compared to traditional processes. It has passed the EU EPD certification and become a core supplier for energy projects such as the Bohai Oilfield and the Central Asia natural gas pipeline. This technological breakthrough marks a crucial step for China's steel industry in green transformation. At the same time, it promotes the upgrading of section steel products such as round steel and I-beams to low carbon, helping to achieve the "dual carbon" goal.
Environmental protection advantage: Full-chain carbon reduction reshapes industrial ecology.
The zero-carbon electric arc furnace uses scrap steel as the main raw material, combines green power (wind power, photovoltaic) and hydrogen-based reduction technology, eliminates high-carbon links such as coking and sintering, and reduces carbon emissions from the source. During the production process of Baotou Steel's Q355D seamless steel pipe, the sulfur and phosphorus contents are controlled below 0.004% and 0.008% respectively, and the purity is significantly improved, which meets the requirements of low temperature impact toughness of LNG storage tank -196 ℃ . Its supporting weathering channel steel (09CuPCrNi) accounts for 40% of the Dasu Hydropower Station project in Pakistan, and the salt spray resistance life exceeds 15 years.
Energy efficiency: Short-process technology reduces costs and increases efficiency.
Compared with the traditional long process, the zero-carbon electric arc furnace shortens the production cycle by 30%. The power consumption per ton of steel is reduced to 350-400 kWh. Relying on the peak-valley electricity price strategy, the annual cost savings exceed 5 million yuan. Baotou Steel United synchronously optimizes the I-beam production line, adopts the TMCP controlled rolling and controlled cooling process, and the grain size reaches ASTM level 8, supporting the design of the column-free station building of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia and reducing the weight by 20%.
Product quality: high purity and performance breakthrough
Through vacuum degassing technology, the oxygen content of seamless steel pipes is ≤15 ppm, the tensile strength is increased to 730 MPa, and the fatigue life under dynamic load breaks through 2 million times. The Gr.3 low-temperature steel continuous casting round billet developed by it adopts electromagnetic stirring technology to eliminate dendritic structure defects. It is applied to the tunnel project of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, and the bearing strength is increased by 40% compared with traditional materials.
Market layout: "Belt and Road Initiative" orders account for more than 60%
Baogang Steel Union seizes the international market by relying on zero-carbon technology. In the first quarter of 2025, it exported 480,000 tons of seamless steel pipes, angle steels and other profiles. Among them, orders for photovoltaic support projects in Southeast Asia increased by 34%. Its corrosion-resistant round steel (20CrMnTi) is used in the manufacturing of Vietnamese automobile gears, with a premium rate of 8% and a profit margin increased by 20% compared to traditional products.
Future Strategy: Digital and Green Hydrogen Collaborative Drive
Combined with green hydrogen storage and transportation technology. It is expected that the proportion of green steel exports will increase to 50% in 2026, and the anti-hydrogen embrittlement steel pipes for hydrogen energy storage tanks will be developed simultaneously, with the goal of covering the European Union zero-carbon building market31. The general manager said: "We will take seamless steel pipes as the core and extend to the high-end profile field to create a benchmark for the northern green steel supply chain."
