South Korea’s steel giant POSCO Holdings Inc. and LG Chem Ltd. announced on Wednesday that they will develop carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies with the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT).

The consortium aims to participate in a CCU project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which supports innovation to reduce carbon emissions by converting captured carbon dioxide into valuable resources.

Under the project, POSCO Holdings will capture carbon emissions produced during the steelmaking process at its steelworks in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province.

LG Chem will use its dry reforming of methan (DRM) process to convert the carbon dioxide and methane into synthetic gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen.

The gas will be reused in steel production as an alternative to traditional carbon-based reducing agents such as coal, enabling a lower-carbon steelmaking process. The carbon monoxide and hydrogen generated can also be used as feedstock for chemical products or sold for use in industries such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The project timeline includes completion of a preliminary feasibility review later this year with facility construction in 2028, and demonstration operations by 2030.

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