Vale-CSU joint laboratory for low-carbon and hydrogen metallurgy opens in China

After more than a year of preparation, the joint laboratory between Vale and Central South University (CSU) for low-carbon and hydrogen metallurgy was officially launched in the capital of Hunan Province, Changsha. Established with a donation of US$5.81 million from Vale, the laboratory will be open to all researchers in the mining and steel industry.

Located in the Yida & CSCEC Smart Technology Center, the laboratory has five floors, covering a total of 3 thousand square meters. As an experimental platform for whole-process low-carbon metallurgy, the site consists of six functional units for iron ore concentration and pre-processing, low-carbon agglomeration, preparation of functional materials, comprehensive utilization of secondary resources, reduction of carbon emissions and biomass and hydrogen metallurgy.

Zeng Lixin, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Science and Technology of Hunan Province, Li Jiancheng, professor of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of South Central University, and Rogerio Carneiro, Director of Iron Product Development and Loading Solutions from the Vale Ferrous Technology Center, participated in the ceremony.

Li Jiancheng said in his speech that the launch reflects the original intention of CSU and Vale to promote collaboration between China and Brazil in the fields of science, technology and innovation, the perseverance in adapting to the trend and adhering to academic studies for the country , as well as the sincerity of always working together and coexisting in harmony.

CSU will strive to develop the laboratory into an international innovation cooperation model of the Belt and Road Initiative, living up to the trust of the top leaders of the two countries, the expectations of the Provincial Party Committee and the Hunan Provincial Government, and the strong support from Vale.

Rogerio Carneiro expressed his sincere gratitude and respect to all those who tirelessly dedicated themselves to the successful launch of the laboratory. “The inauguration marks a fundamental moment in Vale’s ongoing journey towards leadership in sustainable mining for a decarbonizing world. As China strives to accelerate the formation of new quality productive forces, the timing of the launch of this laboratory could not be more opportune,” he said.

“Vale has full confidence that Brazil-China relations will continue to flourish and is honored to contribute to enriching and further expanding this bilateral partnership”, added Carneiro.

During the ceremony, the establishment of a Working Committee for the joint laboratory was also announced, which is made up of eleven technical experts from CSU and Vale.

Start of dialogue

In November 2021, during the China-Brazil High-Level Coordination and Cooperation Committee (Cosban), the partnership between Vale and CSU was discussed for the first time. In May 2022, at the sixth Cosban meeting, the two countries agreed to boost investment in the clean and low-carbon technology sector and promote cooperation in scientific innovation.

In February 2023, Vale officially announced the donation of US$5.81 million to support CSU in the creation of a new low-carbon and hydrogen metallurgy laboratory. During the launch ceremony of the first batch of projects to transform Changsha into a global research and development center in September of the same year, the Vale-CSU Laboratory for Low Carbon and Hydrogen Metallurgy was inaugurated in the presence of important leaders, including Shen Xiaoming, secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Mao Weiming, deputy secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and Governor of Hunan Province.