<article><p class="lead">Japan's biggest steel mill Nippon Steel aims to develop a large-scale electric arc furnace (EAF) and expand the use of hydrogen in steelmaking in the coming years as part of efforts to achieve its 2050 decarbonisation goal.</p><p>Nippon Steel has unveiled a roadmap that tackles the challenge of <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2193152">decarbonising its steelmaking operations</a> through pushing ahead with various technology innovations including carbon capture, utilisation and storage. In the run-up to 2050, the company is planning to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 30pc to 70mn t in 2030 compared with 2013 levels.</p><p>The roadmap includes plans to develop a large-scale EAF and start it up for commercial use by 2030, with Nippon Steel considering using the EAF to replace part of its blast furnace (BF) capacity. The firm is considering combining the use of scrap and direct-reduction iron as feedstock for the EAF, which will be powered by carbon-free electricity to reduce CO2 emissions.</p><p>Japanese steelmaker Tokyo Steel operates the world's biggest EAF at its Tahara plant with a production capacity of 2.5mn t/yr, compared with an average EAF capacity of 700,000 t/yr.</p><p>Nippon Steel has already started investing in additional EAFs. The firm is building an EAF at its Hirohata works in Himeji for a planned start-up in 2022 as part of its <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2006952">restructuring that began in 2019</a>. AM/NS Calvert, Nippon Steel's 50:50 joint venture with Belgium's ArcelorMittal, is aiming to <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2171241">commission a new EAF</a> in the US state of Alabama during the first half of 2023.</p><p>The steel industry is the biggest CO2 emitter, accounting for around 14pc of Japan's total emissions. The bulk of the CO2 emissions comes from BF-based steelmaking. Nippon Steel is consolidating its domestic steelmaking operations, aiming to reduce its capacity to 40mn t/yr at 10 BFs by April 2025.</p><p>Nippon Steel is also planning to speed up development of a direct hydrogen-reduction steelmaking process for commercialisation before 2050. Major global steel mills, including <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2157051">ArcelorMittal</a>, are also working to develop the process but high costs are undermining such efforts, at least in the near term.</p><p>Nippon Steel and rival steel mills JFE Steel and Kobe Steel have been co-operating since 2008 to develop technology to reduce CO2 emissions through hydrogen reduction in BFs. They are targeting to commercialise the technology by 2030, while working to further scale up the rate of hydrogen reduction in BFs in the run-up to 2050.</p><p>The steel industry has been asking the government for <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2187182">financial assistance and support</a> for its decarbonisation efforts. It has also opposed a planned introduction of carbon-pricing measures, which may hamper technology innovation and materialisation of carbon-neutral steel.</p><p>The Japanese government earlier predicted that the country's hydrogen demand could hit 20mn t/yr by 2050, including 7mn t/yr for hydrogen-reduction steelmaking.</p><p class="bylines">By Rieko Suda</p></article>
