I think the energy-saving production is the real benefit, like you said.

According to calculations by Zhang and his colleagues, the new technology could improve the energy use efficiency of China’s steel industry by more than one-third. As it eliminates the need for coal entirely, it would also enable the steel industry to achieve the coveted goal of “near-zero carbon dioxide emissions”, Zhang’s team added.

Obviously it remains to be seen if this pans out. “Could” and “does” are different things, after all. I could just as well imagine every efficiency gain being wiped out by the Jevons effect.