Kobe Steel plans to cut CO2 emissions by 30-40% by 2030

Kobe Steel Ltd (5406.T), the third largest steel producer in Japan, is aiming to reduce production CO2 emissions by 30-40% from 2013 levels by 2030 in line with the global decarbonization drive, the report said.

The 2030 target does not include power generation, but the company aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, including power generation.

Reducing carbon emissions from steelmaking is a key part of efforts to combat climate change around the world, and peers such as Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T) and JFE Holdings Inc (5411.T) are also working on decarbonisation.

Kobe Steel plans to reduce CO2 emissions from blast furnaces using a new method that combines production technology and direct reduction iron (DRI) technology from its US subsidiary Midrex Technologies Inc.
It also aims to develop a method for the production of pig iron with hydrogen reduction and the possibility of using electric furnaces. He plans to use cleaner fuels such as ammonia in his coal-fired power plants.

In line with a new three-year business plan unveiled on Tuesday, Kobe Steel aims to increase operating profit in its steel segment to over 23 billion yen ($ 212 million) for the year to March 2024, up from a loss of 20.8 billion yen per year. just ended.

“As domestic demand is expected to decline in the long term, we want to build a structure that can generate a stable profit from crude steel production of 6.3 million tonnes or maintain a profitability from production of 6 million tonnes,” said Mitsugu Yamaguchi, President of Kobe Steel. the conference.

The company also aims to nearly double its annual power generation profit in three years to about 40 billion yen by launching two thermal power plants in Kobe, western Japan.