* Jianlong Group, one of China's biggest private-sector steelmakers, said it had achieved a "major breakthrough" by using hydrogen as a fuel source to make cast iron in the Inner Mongolia region.

* Hydrogen has been touted as a low-carbon fuel solution for the iron and steel sector in top producer China, replacing the more polluting coal. China has pledged to bring its overall C02 emissions to a peak by 2030.

* A Jianlong unit on April 13 churned out the first 156 tonnes of iron using a hydrogen-based smelting reduction method, an article posted on its official WeChat account said.

* China's second-biggest steelmaker, HBIS Group, last month said it planned to build a 1.2 million tonnes per year direct-reduced iron plant which will use hydrogen and emit 40-60% less C02 compared with a blast furnace.

(Reporting by Tom Daly and Min Zhang) ((tom.daly@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 5669 2119;))