Unlocking the First Wave of Breakthrough Steel Investments in China

This report examines the economic challenges of transitioning China's energy-intensive steel industry to near-zero-carbon production and proposes policy, demand-side, and financial mechanisms to accelerate the deployment of low-carbon technologies.

• The steel industry is critical for economic and social development but is highly energy-intensive and a significant source of climate pollution. While low-carbon technologies make near-zero-carbon production possible, high costs lead to conservative investment decisions in these capital-intensive projects, which may slow the industry's transition.
• Accelerating the deployment of near-zero-carbon steel requires addressing economic barriers through a combination of policy, market, and financial instruments. Specific measures include green hydrogen subsidies, the carbon market, green premiums paid by buyers, forward offtake agreements, and preferential interest rates from financial institutions.

APA

RMI (2024). Unlocking the First Wave of Breakthrough Steel Investments in China. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-the-first-wave-of-breakthrough-steel-investments-in-china/

Chicago

RMI. Unlocking the First Wave of Breakthrough Steel Investments in China. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-the-first-wave-of-breakthrough-steel-investments-in-china/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Unlocking the First Wave of Breakthrough Steel Investments in China |date=19 November 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-the-first-wave-of-breakthrough-steel-investments-in-china/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024unlocking, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Unlocking the First Wave of Breakthrough Steel Investments in China}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-the-first-wave-of-breakthrough-steel-investments-in-china/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }