ECO-PROCESS: The way we manufacture is “eco-friendly”

Nippon Steel uses world-leading resources and energy efficiency to manufacture steel products and aims to develop eco-friendly steelmaking processes by further improving efficiency.

ECO PRODUCTS: What we produce is “eco-friendly”

We produce and offer eco-friendly “products” using our world-leading technological capabilities, thus conserving resources and energy and thereby contributing towards building a sustainable society.

ECO-SOLUTION: Sharing our “eco-solution”

We contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and other environmental burdens on a global scale by diffusing our Group’s world-class environmental and energy-saving technologies in Japan and overseas.

Development of innovative technology

Based on the objective of offering to society technologies and products that contribute to the saving of resources and energy and the reduction in environmental burden, we are developing innovative advanced technologies from a medium- to long-term perspective.

■The way we manufacture is “eco-friendly” (ECO-PROCESS)

Nippon Steel is committed to reduction of the environmental impact created by production activities and manufacturing processes. We make continuous efforts in all processes to not waste limited resources and energy.

• (1)

  Energy Recycling: about 72% (of the total power generation in steelworks is generated from recovered waste heat and by-product gas)
  Recovers high-temperature waste heat generated in coke ovens, blast furnaces, converters, and so on, and efficiently uses them for steam production and electric power generation.
  By introducing CDQ (a power generation system using recovered waste heat), a major-scale CO₂ reduction has been realized.

• (2)

  Water Circulation: about 90% achieved
  About 90% of the water used for cooling and cleaning products and manufacturing equipment is being re-circulated.

• (3)

  Bio-mass from residual wood from the thinning of mountain forest, bio-mass from coffee grounds
  East Nippon Works Kashima area and Kyushu Works Oita area are using such wood chips and non-commercial-grade timber for a coal-fired thermal power station. Mixing woody bio-mass with coal for combustion can serve the purpose of using less coal, which is a fossil fuel Japan imports, and thus reduce CO₂ emissions, while also helping to forest management. East Nippon Works Kashima area is making the similar effort by using coffee grounds.

■Sharing our “eco-solution” (ECO-SOLUTION)

Japan’s steel industry, including Nippon Steel, plays a leading role in the Global Sectoral Approach*, a worldwide initiative to preserve the environment and conserve energy based on technologies accumulated in the steel industry. We think that Japan’s steel industry can contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emission on a worldwide scale by transferring its advanced energy-efficient technologies to emerging countries where there is the potential to improve energy efficiency.

* Global Sectoral Approach is a method to help solve global warming problems by seeking CO₂ reduction potential based on sector-specific technologies and adopting the world’s best energy- saving technologies.

■ECO PRODUCTS (What we produce is “eco-friendly”)

－Electrical power and energy－

Promotion of measures against global warming
(Energy conservation and CO₂ reduction)

• Higher power generation efficiency
  • Non-oriented electrical steel sheets
  • High-temperature boiler steel pipes
  • Stainless steel boiler tubes for ultra supercritical coal-fired power generation
  • Stainless steel sheet for polymer electrolyte fuel cell separator
• Higher transformer efficiency
  • Grain-oriented electrical steel sheets (ORIENTCORE･HI-B™)
• Higher efficiency for energy transportation
  • High-strength transportation line pipes
• Promotion of energy conversion
  • Super high-strength oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for sour service
  • Stainless steel & High alloy OCTG
  • Steam generator (SG) heat transfer tubes for pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants
  • Stainless steel line pipes
  • New stainless steel for high pressure hydrogen environment (HYDEREXEL™)
• Renewable energy
  • Stainless steel boiler tubes for biomass-fired thermal power plant
  • Steel for Offshore wind power

Promotion of environmental risk management
(Environmental conservation and control over chemical substances)

• Increased use for LNG
  • Highly corrosion-resistant thick plates for smoke stacks
  • 6-7% Ni steel for LNG storage tank
• Materials free of environmentally hazardous substances
  • “CLEANWELL™ DRY” OCTG Connection

Active participation in the creation of a recycling-based society
(Longer life and recyclability of products)

• Measures to aid incineration plant.
  • Sulfuric Acid and Hydrochloric Acid Dew-point Corrosion-resistant Steel (S-TEN™1)
  • Highly corrosion-resistant steel pipes for boilers
• Waste reduction through extended product lifespan
  • Highly corrosion-resistant thick stainless steel plates for chemical tankers and food storage tanks

- Automobiles -

Promotion of measures against global warming
(Energy conservation and CO₂ reduction)

• Weight reduction and improved safety
  • High-strength steel sheets (hot rolled, cold rolled, coated /dual phase, TRIP, high-hole expanding,EA, hot stamping material, etc.)
  • Forming technology for ultra high strength steel “NSafe™-FORM-LT”
  • Tailored welded blank of aluminum coated steel sheet for hot stamping
  • Direct water quench technology for hot stamping
  • High-tensile strength steel tubes, three dimensional hot bending and quenching (3DQ) tubes
  • High-strength steel sheets, pipes
  • Extra-heavy wall, small diameter ERW tubes
  • High-efficiency crash box
  • High heat-resistance stainless steel “NAR™-AH-4” for exhaust components and “dual-wall exhaust manifold”
  • “NAR™-301L HS1” stainless steel plate for cylinder head gaskets
  • Forged aluminium wheel for heavy duty commercial vehicles
  • Permanent magnet retarder
  • Titanium connecting rod for high-performance motorbike
  • Titanium fuel tank for high-performance motorbike
  • Titanium muffler for automobile and motorbike
  • Titanium intake/exhaust valves for automobile and motorbike
• Higher efficiency for motors in hybrid, electric vehicles
  • Highly efficient non-oriented electrical steel sheets
• Simpler manufacturing and forming processes for users
  • High formable anti-rust steel sheets (L-treatment)
  • Steel pipes for hydro-form processing
  • Non-heat treated nitrocarburized high-strength crankshaft steel
  • High-strength steel for forged connecting rods

Promotion of environmental risk management
(Environmental conservation and control over chemical substances)

• Materials free of environmentally hazardous substances
  • Lead-free free-cutting steel for crank shafts (steel bar)
  • Lead-free galvanized steel sheets for fuel tanks (ECOKOTE™-S)
  • Chromate-free galvanized steel plates for automobiles
• Improved purification performance for exhaust gas
  • Heat-resistant stainless steel for exhaust emission parts
  • High-pressure fuel injection pipe for diesel engines
• Products that address noise and vibration
  • Laminated damping steel sheets

Active participation in the creation of a recycling-based society
(Longer life and recyclability of products)

• Waste reduction through extended product lifespan
  • Galvanized steel sheets with high corrosion-resistance
  • SUPERNICKEL™ steel sheets for HV-EV car batteries

- Home appliances and electrical devices -

Promotion of measures against global warming
(Energy conservation and CO₂ reduction)

• Improved motor efficiency
  • Highly efficient non-oriented electrical steel sheets
• Simpler manufacturing process for users
  • Pre-coated steel sheets
  • Steel sheets treated with lubricant film
  • Thin highly workable stainless steel sheets
  • Precoated antistatic steel sheets
• Higher heat dissipation efficiency
  • Steel sheets with higher endothermic properties
  • Heat-releasing pre-painted steel sheets

Promotion of environmental risk management
(Environmental conservation and control over chemical substances)

• Materials free of environmentally hazardous substances
  • Lead-free galvanized steel sheets (ECOKOTE™, ECOTRIO™)
  • Chromate-free electro-galvanized steel sheets for home appliances (NS ZINKOTE™, NS ZINKOTE™COLOR)
  • Chromate-free precoated steel sheets for home appliances (Non-Chro VIEWKOTE™)
  • Low-carbon lead-free free-cutting steel
• Reduced noise and magnetic shields
  • Non-oriented electrical steel sheets
  • Grain-oriented electrical steel sheets
  • Stainless steel damping sheets

Active participation in the creation of a recycling-based society
(Longer life and recyclability of products)

• Waste reduction through extended product lifespan
  • Transparent coated stainless steel sheets
  • Galvanized steel sheets with high corrosion resistance
  • Titanium sheets and coils
    
  • SUPERNICKEL™ steel sheets for secondary batteries

- Containers -

Promotion of measures against global warming
(Energy conservation and CO₂ reduction)

• Weight reduction of materials used in cans
  • Extremely thin tinplate and laminated steel sheets

Promotion of environmental risk management
(Environmental conservation and control over chemical substances)

• Materials free of environmentally hazardous substances
  • Laminated steel sheets

Active participation in the creation of a recycling-based society
(Longer life and recyclability of products)

• Increased recycling rate
  • Materials for steel cans (tinplate and laminated steel sheets)

- Construction and civil engineering, etc. -

Promotion of measures against global warming
(Energy conservation and CO₂ reduction)

• Improved construction efficiency
  • Mechanical joint for steel pipe pile (Rakunikan Joint, Gachi-cam Joint™)
  • Hat-type sheet pile "NSHAT™"
    
  • HTUFF™ (Super High HAZ (heat-affected-zone) toughness technology with fine microstructure imparted by fine particles) steel
  • Fixed external dimension H-section steel, “NSHYPER BEAM™” “MEGA NSHYPER BEAM™”
  • Fire-resistant steel "NSFR™"
  • Super high tension bolt SHTB™
• Energy conservation
  • “SMart BEAM™” lightweight welded H-beam
  • Steel house (NS Super Frame™ method of construction)
  • High-speed railway wheels, axles, and bogie trucks
  • Commercialy pure titanium sheet for aircraft, titanium alloy rods for aircraft engines
• CO₂ reduction
  • Granulated blast furnace slag for Portland blast furnace slag cement

Promotion of environmental risk management
(Environmental conservation and control over chemical substances)

• Environmental conservation (Reductions in surplus soil, noise and vibration, nature regeneration)
  • NS ECO-PILE™
  • Steel-pipe piles for Gyropress Method™
  • GANTETSU pile™, Steel-pipe piles for TN Method
  • Steel-pipe piles for TN-X Method
    
  • Steel-Slit Dams Type A
  • Water-permeable steel sheet pile
  • Steel pipe pile of low noise, low ground vibration and highly bearing capacity “RS Plus™”
  • Silent Driving Gear Unit
  • Noise damped Wheel
  • Non-frame method
  • Iron and steel slag fertilizer
• Improved marine safety
  • High-Strength steel plate for ship with Excellent Brittle Crack Arrestability
  • Plate for Shipbuilding with Improved Collision Safety (NSafe™-Hull)
  • NS-Ship-Safety 235
• Reduced use of rare metals
  • Stainless steel that contains a very small amount of tin (NSSC FW1, FW2)

Active participation in the creation of a recycling-based society
(Longer life and recyclability of products)

• Longer life and improved endurance and reliability
  • High performance steel for bridge (SBHS)
  • Steel for high-strength structures, high-tensile steel wires
  • Abrasion resistant steel plate (ABREX™)
  • Rails for heavy-load railway
  • Bogies equipped with steering devices for metro
  • Titanium material for architecture & civil construction (including "TranTixxii™")
• Improved corrosion-resistance capabilities
  • Ni-based weather-resistant steel (NAW-TEN™)
  • Weathering Steel (COR-TEN™)
  • Highly corrosion-resistant galvanized steel sheets (SuperDyma™, etc.)
  • Zinc Alloy-coated Wire with High Corrosion Resistance (Tough Guard™ Mild, ToughGuard™ Frost, ToughGuard™ Hard)
  • Highly corrosion-resistant steel plates for crude oil tankers (NSGP™-1, 2)
  • MARILOY™
  • Alloyed titanium (Super-TIX™ series)
  • Corrosion Resistance steel for Painting cycle Extension (CORSPACE™)
• Resource saving
  • Iron and steel slag for road construction
  • Symple pavement material 「KATAMA^TMSP」
  • Blast-furnace slag coarse aggregate / fine aggregate
  • Calia improvement material
  • Artificial Stone terial for port construction「Frontier Stone^TM / Frontier Rock^TM」
  • Steel slag product for ground improvement (for sand compaction pile method) 「Eco-GaiaｰStone」
  • Steel slag product for ground improvement 「Geo-Tizer^TM」
    

* Eco Products of Nippon Steel Group companies are also listed.

■Innovative Technology Development

COURSE50*

Since 2008, the COURSE50 has been developing technologies to lower CO₂ emissions by 30%: a 10% cut in CO₂ emissions from a blast furnace by adopting technologies to reduce iron ore by use of hydrogen and a 20% cut in CO₂ emissions by adopting technologies to capture — separate and recover — CO₂ contained in blast furnace gas. Concerning the former case, a 10% cut has been verified at a 12m³ experimental blast furnace at the Kimitsu Area of the East Nippon Works and we also undertook simulation for the size of an actual blast furnace, moving the project closer to adoption of this innovative reduction technologies in commercial-use blast furnaces.

*Commissioned project by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

CCS/CCU*

Technology that separates and captures the minimized CO₂ generated from the steel manufacturing process and stores it in the ground, or converts CO₂ directly or into other substances for utilization. The Group has put into practice * the CO₂ capture equipment required for this CCUS.

*ESCAP^TM（Energy Saving CO₂ Absorption Process)
Based on the energy-saving CO₂ absorption technology developed by COURSE50, Nippon Steel Engineering Co., Ltd. commercialized the technology for industrial use, by adding its own technology.
By using the absorption solution jointly developed by Nippon Steel and RITE (Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth), high-purity CO₂ can be captured from CO₂ containing gas with low energy.