This report examines the low-carbon transition pathways for thermal/heating systems in China's steel industry, reviewing the policy drivers behind decarbonization and analyzing the technological trajectory across near-, medium-, and long-term horizons (2025–2060). It surveys and compares the applicability, economics, and emissions-reduction potential of key technologies—including waste heat recovery, system efficiency improvements, and hydrogen-based metallurgy—through in-depth case studies (HBIS Group's hydrogen metallurgy, Shougang Jingtang's process interface optimization, and Sinosteel/CISP's hydrogen-based smelting reduction, among others). It further identifies the practical barriers to scaling these technologies (high green hydrogen costs, renewable energy intermittency, stranded-asset risk, and weak cross-sector coordination mechanisms), and proposes policy recommendations to accelerate the sector's shift toward integration with renewable energy systems.

Examines the green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol industry in China, contends that the sector is shifting from a supply-side capacity-expansion phase to a "demand-constrained" phase where commercial viability depends on forming a closed-loop offtake and consumption system, identifies critical bottlenecks—including high production costs (2–3 times higher than conventional routes), insufficient port refueling infrastructure, heavy reliance on volatile international certification (e.g., ISCC) and external demand, and the failure of green premiums to translate into stable domestic willingness-to-pay—and proposes a strategic policy reorientation from merely "building production capacity" to actively "creating demand" through enforceable domestic demand-side mechanisms (e.g., non-electric consumption targets, green procurement, and carbon market integration), enhanced domestic green certification and pricing capabilities, consumption-side incentives, and stricter project screening focused on commercial closure, in order to unlock the industry's low-carbon value, reduce dependence on external rules, and support its sustainable commercial scaling and contribution to China's energy transition.

As the parks multiply, unified standards and better carbon accounting are needed to maximize their potential.

This policy brief analyzes the structural shift in China's fossil energy consumption from fuel to feedstock, identifying provinces with high feedstock dependence and assessing the implications for subnational decarbonization under the "dual control" framework for carbon emissions. The methodology combines quantitative analysis of national and provincial energy statistics from the China Energy Statistical Yearbook (2019–2023) with a classification framework that ranks provinces based on the share of coal, oil, and natural gas used as feedstock relative to their total final consumption of each fuel. It then derives targeted policy recommendations centered on accelerating the deployment of green hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol as substitutes for fossil feedstocks in carbon-intensive industries, supported by a case study of Inner Mongolia's green hydrogen industry plan.

The development of zero-carbon industrial parks is not the result of a single policy initiative, but rather an inevitable choice driven by the combined effects of macro-level strategies, international competition, and the industry’s own internal momentum.

This paper analyzes the long-term impact of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on China's steel industry, with a focus on quantifying the resulting cost burden and identifying the key drivers and mitigating factors. The methodology employs a dynamic, process-level scenario-based model (CBAM-CST) that links three steel production routes (BF-BOF, DRI-EAF, and Scrap-EAF) with their emission intensities, energy transition pathways, carbon pricing systems (EU ETS and China's national carbon market), and trade flows through 2050. The model integrates three sub-modules—inflation and exchange rates, CBAM certificate cost calculation, and China's steel low-carbon transformation—to simulate CBAM obligations across multiple scenarios (BAU, DCS, and NES), with sensitivity analyses examining the effects of EU ETS carbon prices, domestic carbon market inclusion, electricity decarbonization, and hydrogen utilization on total certificate costs.