POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo gives an opening speech online at Hydrogen Iron & Steel Making Forum held in Fotografiska, Stockholm, on Oct. 12. Courtesy of POSCO

By Kim Jae-heun

POSCO held the second Hydrogen Iron & Steel making Forum (HyIS) in Fotografiska, Stockholm, on Oct. 12, the company said Thursday.

HyIS is a forum where experts from the steel industry, raw material suppliers, engineering firms, academia and associations gather to discuss carbon-neutral strategies and sustainable growth in the steel-making industry based on hydrogen iron.

The steelmaker hosted the world's first HyIS forum in Seoul last year, proposing cross-border cooperation and solidarity to speed up the realization of carbon neutrality.

This year's HyIS forum was jointly held by POSCO and Swedish steelmaker SSAB after the company chairman Choi Jeong-woo met with Swedish Ambassador to Korea Daniel Bolven to propose co-hosting the event in February.

POSCO expects that when the two companies with the most competitive technologies in hydrogen iron meet and cooperate, they will lead the eco-friendly trend not only in Europe but also in the international community.

In particular, POSCO hopes to seek cooperation with more companies by introducing its Hydrogen Reduction Steel Making (HyREX) technology directly to Europe to publicize its sustainability and economic feasibility.

HyREX is an eco-friendly steelmaking technology that produces steel without carbon emissions using spectroscopy and hydrogen based on Fine Iron ore Reduction (FINEX) flow reduction furnace technology, which POSCO succeeded in commercializing in 2007 after 10 years of research and development.

This year's HyIS forum saw the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Leadership Group for Industry Transition and Mission Possible Partnership as the sponsors to provide a venue for more diverse and in-depth exchanges of opinions.

"Everyone knows that the key to solving the steel industry's carbon emissions problem is hydrogen iron, but it will not be achieved by POSCO going at it alone because it is a very challenging goal in itself. If all the participants in this forum agree to cooperate, carbon neutrality will be achieved faster and mankind will move toward a better future faster," the chairman said during the forum.