Our Group’s products have advanced functions and reliability, which are based on our superior technological capabilities, and are used in diverse areas including energy, transportation and construction equipment, and household products. They typically help our customers become more efficient while making their products lighter or lengthening product life. That translates into the saving of resources and energy, and into a reduction in CO₂ emissions at the point of use at our customers, thereby contributing to lessening the environmental impact.

Providing high-performance steel products and solutions that help reduce overall CO₂ emissions

In addition to promoting drastic technological innovation in the steelmaking process, we are contributing to the realization of a carbon neutral society in Japan by providing high-performance steel products (Eco-Products) that help customers save energy and that reduces CO₂ emissions when using final products.

Specifically, in response to the growing demand for electrical steel sheets that reduce energy loss for motors of electric vehicles and transformers, and demand for higher grade steel products, we have decided to implement measures to improve the capacity and quality of electrical steel sheets and are currently investing ¥123 billion in total in the Kyushu Works Yawata Area and Setouchi Works Hirohata Area.

　

In addition, in response to the growing demand for ultra-high-tensile steel sheets that improve automobiles by the combination of lighter weight and higher strength, we have also begun to establish a new-generation hot-rolling mill in the Nagoya Works. We will continue to provide high-performance steel products and solutions that are compatible with this carbon neutral initiative, contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in production and processing by our customers and in the use phase of our products by end consumers.

Improvement of the capacity and quality of electrical steel sheets

As the world is rapidly moving toward decarbonization, regulations concerning energy efficiency of transformers have been tightened in a number of countries. With regard to grain-oriented (GO) electrical steel sheets used in the iron core of transformers, the need for higher-grade materials with less energy loss is anticipated to further increase. In the meantime, demand for high-efficiency high-grade non-oriented (NO) electrical steel sheets used in the iron core of electric vehicles (EVs) is also expected to dramatically increase, driven by accelerated growth in demand for EVs, along with the stricter regulations for CO₂ emissions and average fuel economy for vehicles.

In order to respond quickly to this accelerating need, we decided to invest a total of ¥123 billion to improve the capacity and quality of electrical steel sheets at the Kyushu Works Yawata Area and the Setouchi Works Hirohata Area, and have been working to make this investment fully effective by the first half of fiscal 2024.

Construction of a next-generation hot strip mill and production of ultra-high-tensile steel sheets

In the automotive industry, where global environmental regulations are showing a trend of tightening and where crashworthiness standards are becoming more stringent, demand for high-performance materials is expected to further grow in response to the need for lighter, stronger vehicle bodies.

For the foreseeable future, demand for electric and hybrid vehicles will have high growth potential, increasing needs for lighter and stronger vehicle bodies that support extended travel distance, heavier battery weight, and higher safety.

In response to these needs, we have decided to make strategic investment in a next-generation hot strip rolling mill (production capacity: approximately 6 million tons/year: commissioning in the first quarter of fiscal 2026) as a means of fundamentally strengthening our production system for ultra-high-tensile steel sheets and other high-performance steel sheets at the Nagoya Works — our core base for manufacturing automotive steel sheets.

Nippon steel’s steel products support diffusion of renewable energy

SuperDyma™, suitable for the supporting mount for solar power panels

SuperDyma™ is an eco-friendly building material that is highly corrosionresistant and lasts four times longer than conventional products. In particular it has recently been adopted for the supporting mount of solar power panels in various parts of Japan.

KATAMA™ SP use for solar power generation sites

KATAMA™ SP is a simple pavement material that makes use of steel slag’s characteristics of compacting in reaction to water. Due to its weed control effect, KATAMA™ SP is used for pavement at mega-solar panel power stations, to help maintain power generation efficiency and reduce mowing.

Steel materials (floating platforms, mooring chains) for offshore wind power generation

Unlike onshore wind farms, which cause wind noise and emit low frequency wavelength sound, offshore wind farms are drawing attention as Japan, an island country, has a long coast line and strong offshore wind tends to be steady. The Nipponsteel Group is developing high-strength, corrosion-resistant steel material with good workability, as well as the construction technology, contributing to improvement of offshore wind farms.

Geothermal power stations and seamless pipes for geothermal power generation

Geothermal power generation is promising as renewable energy use of which results in low CO₂ emissions. Nippon Steel Engineering in the Nipponsteel Group has been responsible for the construction of production equipment and pipelines on nine of 17 large-scale geothermal power plants in Japan. The company thus has abundant construction achievements and knowhow.
Leveraging the technology accumulated in manufacturing OCTGs for deep-sea underwater oilfields where the steel is exposed to a highly-corrosive environment, Nipponsteel also provides seamless pipes, suitable to be used in geothermal power generation, which also involves a similar high-temperature, high-pressure, highly-corrosive environment.

Steel pipes, contributing to boost efficiency in pumped-storage hydroelectric power generation

This is a power generation method to make upper and lower reservoirs and release the pumped-storage water in the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir through turbines to produce electric power. In order to raise generation efficiency, high-strength, high-grade steel pipes were required to withstand increased water pressure due to greater elevation of water. Nipponsteel has successfully developed and commercialized Japan’s first 100kg-class steel used for a pressurized water pipe.

Acquisition of the “Eco-Leaf” environmental label

Products that have acquired "Ecoleaf" since FY2021

• Seamless, high-frequency welded well pipes/line pipes
• Steel plates for building structures
• High-tensile strength steel plates for building structures
• Steel bars and wire products
• Steel plates for structure
• Steel sheets
• Reduced-process steel bar and wire products