POSCO completes South Korea's largest electric arc furnace at Gwangyang Steelworks

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has announced the completion of a new electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Gwangyang Steelworks in South Jeolla Province, marking a significant milestone in the company's decarbonization roadmap. The facility is now preparing to commence large-scale production of low-carbon steel.

With an annual capacity of 2.5 million metric tons, the new EAF stands as the largest single-unit electric arc furnace in South Korea. Construction commenced in February 2024 and required an investment of approximately KRW 600 billion (around $396.7 million).

POSCO stated that the investment was driven by the need to align with both domestic and international decarbonization mandates, as well as to meet rising customer demand for environmentally sustainable steel products.

According to the company, the electric arc furnace is capable of reducing carbon emissions by up to 75% compared to its traditional blast furnace-based steelmaking process, owing to the use of scrap steel as the primary raw material.