Posco launches new low-emission steel product

A photo shows an indoor smart farm built using Posco's new low-emission Greenate certified steel, installed at E-mart's Yeonsu branch in Incheon in March. (Posco)

Posco has launched the country’s first low-carbon steel product in line with the steelmaker’s ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the company said Sunday.

LG Electronics has become the first client to purchase the newly-launched low-emission steel product for the company’s home appliances production, the company added.

Posco’s new steel product, named Greenate certified steel, uses mass balance methodology by which steelmakers allocate their carbon emissions reductions to their steel products produced under low carbon manufacturing programs.

According to Posco, the company will be able to annually produce around 200,000-300,000 metric tons of this new low-emission steel. The amount of carbon emissions that the company will reduce through this process will reach around 590,000 tons.

The amount of reduction in carbon emissions was evaluated by Det Norske Veritas based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the main global standard for public and private sector entities to measure emissions.

With the latest launch of Greenate steel, Posco has become the first South Korean firm to sell steel products using the mass balance methodology. The method had been adopted by overseas steel makers since 2021, according to Posco. Companies using the relatively new method include ThyssenKrupp, Austria’s Voestalpine, Tata Steel Europe and Kobe Steel.

“The trend for low emissions is inevitable in the steel industry, and Posco is trying to actively respond by launching new products,” an official from Posco said. “The company has taken a step forward in its long-term carbon neutrality journey,” the official added.

Posco expects that the new low-emission steel product will be able to provide an option for emissions savings with its clients.

LG Electronics is the first client of the new low-emission steel product. According to Posco, LG Electronics has made an order for 200 tons of the new steel products to use in the company’s home appliances.

In November last year, LG Electronics signed two memorandums of understanding with LG Electronics and Volvo Construction Equipment for future supplies of Greenate steel products.

Samsung Electronics could also consider purchasing the new steel products in the future, under a three-year steel supply contract that the two companies recently made, Posco added.

By Shim Woo-hyun(ws@heraldcorp.com)