POSCO Gwangyang steel plant , also known as Pohang Iron & Steel Gwangyang, is a steel plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, South Korea that operates electric arc furnace (EAF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), blast furnace (BF), and direct reduced iron (DRI) technology.
Location
The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, South Korea:
Location: 20-26, Pokposarang-gil, Gwangyang-si, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea
Coordinates (WGS 84 ): 34.920086, 127.74865 (exact)
Background
POSCO Gwangyang plant was constructed in four phases between 1982 and 1992.[ 1] POSCO Gwangyang houses five out the fourteen blast furnaces larger than 5500 m3 in the world.[ 2] [ 3] Blast furnace #3 was restarted in July 2020 after being rebuilt for the third time.[ 4] Blast furnace #3 added 4.6 mtpa crude steel capacity to POSCO Gwangyang steel plant , bringing the plant's crude steel capacity up from 18 mtpa to 23 mtpa to become the largest steel plant in the world in 2016.[ 4] [ 5] A steel mill in China (Zhangjiagang Hongchang Steel Co., Ltd. ) has since exceeded the capacity of the POSCO Gwangyang steel plant .[ 6]
In November 2020, three workers were killed in an explosion at POSCO Gwangyang .[ 7]
2050 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap
POSCO is also planning to invest in an electric furnace (EAF) each for its Pohang and Gwangyang steelworks. The expansion project is expected to produce 2.5 million tonnes of hot metal annually with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality. The news article from May 2023, mentioned that it was unlikely that annual crude steel production will increase from the two facilities.[ 8] Operations were scheduled to start from 2025.[ 8]
In June 2023, POSCO Gwangyang placed an order with Tenova for an Electric Arc Furnace equipped with Consteel and Electromagnetic Stirrer Consterrer, as part of it decarbonisation pursuit. The EAF with capacity of 2500 ttpa will be able to reduce carbon emissions by about 3.5 million tons per year compared to blast furnace production.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
In February 2024, POSCO started construction of the EAF unit, which was expected to be completed by the end of 2025 and start operations in 2026. The total investment in the project is estimated at KRW 600 billion.[ 13]
Under the company's 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap POSCO plans to phase-out traditional blast furnace technology by 2050 and adopt renewable and green hydrogen-based steelmaking technology in its plants in South Korea.[ 14] [ 15] POSCO plans to develop the hydrogen reduction steel plant by reclaiming land from sea which is expected to be completed by 2041 and begin full operation of hydrogen reduction steel facility by 2050.[ 16] [ 17]
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker , a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Low-emissions/green steelmaking
This steel plant is associated with a green steel project tracked in the Green Steel Tracker . Details about the project are included below.
Table 1: Green Steel Project Details
All references for the above data are available in the Green Steel Tracker .
Project 1
Project name
POSCO EAF Gwangyang
Company
POSCO Holdings
Company has climate goals?
Yes
Location
Gwangyang, South Korea
Project website
Not available
Project scale
Full scale
Project status
Construction
Technology to be used
BF-BOF to EAF
Iron production capacity (million tonnes per year)
Not stated
Steel production capacity (million tonnes per year)
2
CO2 capture (million tonnes CO2 per year)
Not applicable
Hydrogen generation capacity (MW)
Not applicable
Investment size (m USD)
461.31
Partners
Consteel , Tenova
Date of announcement
2/21/2023
Plant Details
Table 2: General Plant Details
Construction date
Start date
Workforce size
Power source
Iron ore source
Coal source
1985[ 18]
1987[ 19]
4080[ 20]
4 generation plants each with 2 energy generation facilities (for a total of 8)[ 21]
Imported from Australia[ 22]
Imported from Australia[ 22]
Table 3: Ownership and Parent Company Information
State-owned entity status
Parent company
Parent company PermID
Parent GEM entity ID
Owner
Owner company PermID
Owner GEM entity ID
Partial
POSCO Holdings Inc [100.0%]
4295881204 [100.0%]
E100000000953 [100.0%]
POSCO Holdings Inc [100%][ 23]
4295881204
E100000000953 [100%]
Table 4: Process and Products
Table 5: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
1 Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status1
Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity
Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity
Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
operating
22999[ 30] [ 31]
2500[ 30] [ 32]
25499[ 30] [ 31] [ 32]
Table 6: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
Table 7: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)
Table 8: Actual Plant-level Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)
Table 9: Actual Plant-level Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)
Year
BF production
Other/unknown iron production
2019
unknown
unknown
2020
unknown
unknown
2021
unknown
unknown
2022
unknown
unknown
2023
unknown
unknown
Unit Details
Table 10: Blast Furnace Details
Unit name
Status
Construction date
Start date
Furnace manufacturer and model
Current size
Current capacity (ttpa)
Decarbonization technology
Most recent relining
BF 1
operating[ 44]
–
1987[ 36]
Davy International; POSCO[ 45] [ 46]
6000.0 m3[ 47] [ 48]
5650[ 36]
unknown
2013-06-07[ 49]
BF 2
operating[ 44]
–
1988[ 34] [ 50]
Davy International; POSCO[ 45] [ 46]
4350.0 m3[ 51]
4500[ 34]
unknown
2003-05[ 52]
BF 3
operating[ 44]
–
1990[ 53] [ 35] [ 50]
Davy International; POSCO[ 46] [ 54]
5500.0 m3[ 53] [ 55]
4600[ 35] [ 37]
Upgraded in 2020 to an "eco-friendly" smart furnace, with little specific information about how the use of AI will reduce emissions.[ 53] [ 39]
2020-07-10[ 56]
BF 4
operating[ 57]
–
1992[ 58]
Davy International; POSCO; Paul Wurth (parts)[ 59] [ 60] [ 46]
5500.0 m3[ 48]
5000[ 39]
Upgraded in 2022 to an "eco-friendly" smart furnace, with little specific information about how the use of AI will reduce emissions.[ 61]
2022-06-10[ 62]
BF 5
operating[ 44]
1996-10-15[ 50]
2000[ 53] [ 55]
Davy International; POSCO[ 45] [ 46] [ 54]
5500.0 m3[ 48]
5000[ 38]
unknown
2016-06[ 63]
Table 11: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Details
Unit name
Status
Announced date
Start date
Furnace manufacturer and model
Furnace type
Current capacity (ttpa)
unknown DRI (1)
announced[ 33]
2024[ 33]
2050[ 33] [ 64]
HyREX[ 65] [ 66]
fluidized bed[ 67] [ 66]
0[ 33]
Table 12: Direct Reduced Iron Furnace Reductant Details
Unit name
Current or initial reductant
Gas reductant
unknown DRI (1)
gas[ 65] [ 67]
hydrogen[ 65] [ 67]
Table 13: Electric Arc Furnace Details
Unit name
Status
Construction date
Start date
Furnace manufacturer and model
Current capacity (ttpa)
Current size (tonnes)
unknown EAF (1)
operating[ 68]
2024-02-06[ 69] [ 70]
2026[ 68]
Tenova and ABB Consteel and Electromagnetic Stirrer Consteerrer equipped EAF[ 71] [ 71]
2500[ 32] [ 30]
280.0[ 72]
Table 14: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details
Unit name
Scrap-based
% scrap
% basic/merchant pig iron
unknown EAF (1)
yes[ 71]
>0[ 71]
>0[ 71]
Table 15: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
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Resources