Kobe Steel to launch “Kobenable Steel” Japan’s first low CO₂ blast furnace steel
by David Fleschen
Kobe Steel announces today that it will launch “Kobenable Steel” and become Japan’s first provider of low CO2 blast furnace steel products with significantly reduced CO2 emissions during the blast furnace ironmaking process. The Company plans to start selling the new products this fiscal year.
Kobenable Steel is based on the KOBELCO Group's CO2 Reduction Solution for Blast Furnace Ironmaking announced on February 16, 2021. It utilizes a technology that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the blast furnace, which was demonstrated by charging into the blast furnace at the Company’s production site Kakogawa Works a large amount of HBI produced by the MIDREX® Process in the engineering business.
Kobe Steel plans to launch Kobenable Steel (low CO2 blast furnace steel) in two product categories as shown below.
Product categories of Kobenable Steel (low CO2 blast furnace steel)
| Product name | Reduction Rate of CO2 emissions per ton compared with conventional products*4) |
|---|---|
| Kobenable Premier | 100％ |
| Kobenable Half | 50% |
Kobenable Steel, manufactured in the same process as the conventional blast furnace method, has the following two features.
- Available for all types of the Company’s steel products
Kobenable Steel is available for all types of steel products (steel sheet, steel plate, wire rod & bar products) manufactured at Kakogawa Works and the Kobe Wire Rod & Bar Plant.
- Maintaining the same level of high quality as conventional products
Customers can continue to use blast furnace steel products that require high quality, such as special steel wire rods and ultra-high-tensile strength steel, which are the Company’s strengths.
For commercialization, reduction rates of CO2 emissions are calculated using the mass balance methodology in which CO2 reduction effects are allocated to specific steel products, in accordance with ISO 20915. The calculation method and results are certified by the DNV Business Assurance services UK Ltd., a third-party certification body in the UK. At the time of the sale of the products, Kobe Steel will provide the customer with a third-party certificate issued by DNV and a low-CO2 steel product certificate issued by the Company.
Kobe Steel will contribute to the realization of a green society by providing Kobenable Steel low CO2 blast furnace steel as a pioneer in the steel industry.
The Kobe Steel Group (also known as the KOBELCO Group) will continue to provide solutions to the needs of society, by making the best use of the talents of its employees and technologies, in order to realize a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfill their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure and prosperous lives.
Source: Kobe Steel, Photo: Fotolia