Japanese Kobe Steel plans to sell 1 million tons of low-carbon steel in 2030

Japan's third-largest steelmaker, Kobe Steel Ltd, plans to sell one million tons of low-carbon steel per year in 2030 in line with the global push for decarbonization, its president said Thursday.

Reducing carbon emissions from steel production, which accounts for about 7-9 percent of global CO2 emissions, is a key measure to combat climate change, and the move comes as Kobe Steel aims to cut CO2 emissions from its manufacturing process by 30 percent. 40 percent by 2030 from 2013 levels.

“We want to increase annual production and sales of mild steel to around one million tons by around 2030,” Kobe Steel President Mitsugu Yamaguchi told reporters and analysts.

“We get a lot of inquiries from various industries, including automotive and construction,” he said. He declined to say what price premium he plans to receive.

Last year, Kobe Steel said it had successfully demonstrated a new technology to reduce CO2 emissions from blast furnaces by up to a fifth compared to the traditional approach.

The new method uses a combination of blast furnace technology and Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) technology from the US division of Midrex Technologies.

Loading a large amount of DRI in the form of briquettes into a blast furnace can reduce the amount of carbon fuel required, such as coke, resulting in lower CO2 emissions.

Kobe Steel, which produces about 6 million tons of crude steel a year, plans to sell about 8,000 tons of mild steel this fiscal year through March 2023.

The calculation method and results are certified by DNV Business Assurance Services UK Ltd, a third party certification body.