Brazilian mining company to develop China's Iron and Steel industry

The Vale-CSU Joint Laboratory for Low Carbon and Hydrogen Metallurgy was launched in Changsha, Hunan province by Brazilian mining company Vale and Central South University on Monday, eager to help China's iron and steel industry develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace.

Established with a donation of $5.81 million from Vale, the joint laboratory will be open to all the researchers from the mining and steel industry from today, it said.

This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Brazil and China, and the launch of the joint laboratory serves as a good example of the deepening collaboration between the two countries in the domains of science, technology, and innovation, said Vale.

Rogerio Carneiro, Director of Ferrous Products Development and Burden Solutions and Ferrous Technology Center of Vale, said the inauguration of this joint laboratory marks a pivotal milestone in Vale's ongoing journey towards a leader in sustainable mining for a decarbonizing world.

"As China embarks on accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces, the timing of this laboratory's launch couldn't be more opportune," he said.

"Leveraging the robust faculty and research capabilities of CSU, we anticipate that this laboratory will serve as a catalyst for advancements in the realm of low-carbon and hydrogen metallurgy, thereby helping China's iron and steel industry develop new quality productive forces at a faster pace and achieve green transformation in an earlier way."

Li Jiancheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Central South University said the university fully supports the development and building of a joint laboratory into a model for deepening cooperation between China and Brazil in the domains of science, technology, and innovation, providing strong support for the green transformation and development of the steel industry.

As an experimental platform for low-carbon metallurgy full-process, the joint laboratory comprises six functional units for iron ore concentration and pre-processing, low-carbon agglomerating, functional materials preparation, comprehensive utilization of secondary resources, carbon emissions reduction and biomass and hydrogen metallurgy.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn