POSCO completes Korea’s largest electric arc furnace at Gwangyang
- KRW 600 billion invested to build a 2.5 million tonne/year EAF at Gwangyang, constructed from February 2024 with a cumulative workforce of 270,000.
- The EAF route recycles scrap and reduces carbon emissions by approximately 75% compared with POSCO’s 2017–2019 baseline for crude steel (Scope 1 & 2), subject to scrap and power mix.
- POSCO is developing Haptang (hot metal mixing) plus scrap selection and composition control to produce premium automotive and electrical steel sheets from EAF routes by 2030.
- A 300,000 t/yr HyREX hydrogen‑reduction demonstration plant is planned toward commercialization by 2030, with reclamation of about 1.35 million m2 near Pohang progressing.
Project and capacity
POSCO has completed a 2.5 million tonne/year Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at Gwangyang. Construction began in February 2024; the project involved a cumulative workforce of 270,000 and an investment of about KRW 600 billion, making it the largest single EAF facility in South Korea.
Emissions and technology
The EAF route recycles steel scrap and can reduce carbon emissions by roughly 75% versus POSCO’s 2017–2019 baseline for crude steel (Scope 1 & 2), although the rate varies with scrap supply and power generation sources. POSCO is also developing Haptang (hot metal mixing) to blend molten iron from EAF and blast furnace routes to achieve blast‑furnace quality while lowering CO2 relative to conventional blast operations.
Product strategy and timeline
POSCO has designated EAF‑produced premium steel as one of its Eight Strategic Products and formed an integrated team across R&D, production and sales. The company aims to mass‑produce automotive steel sheets and electrical steel sheets from EAF processes by 2030 through improved scrap selection, classification and precise composition control.
Transition roadmap and policy context
POSCO positions the new EAF as a near‑term lever for greenhouse‑gas reduction while it advances HyREX hydrogen‑reduction steelmaking. A 300,000 t/yr HyREX demonstration facility is planned to complete commercialization technology by 2030, supported by reclamation of roughly 1.35 million square metres near Pohang. The completion ceremony drew the prime minister and senior officials, who pledged government support for scrap quality, supply stabilisation and the HyREX demonstration amid tighter NDCs, Phase 4 ETS and the EU CBAM.
Source: POSCO
