Feb. 06, 2024

Nippon Steel Corporation

Nippon Steel Corporation (hereafter “Nippon Steel”) has been conducting development tests of Super COURSE50, a technology that uses heated hydrogen to reduce CO₂ emissions, in the test furnace (inner volume 12 m³) at the East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area since May 2022. So far, Nippon Steel has made steady progress in its development of this technology in terms of verifying the reduction in CO₂ emissions at 22% from the blast furnace itself. During tests conducted from November to December 2023, Nippon Steel verified that they had achieved the world’s highest level of 33% reduction in CO₂ emissions from the blast furnace. These tests verified the blast furnace CO₂ emissions reduction effect while maintaining a heat balance inside the blast furnace using heated hydrogen when increasing hydrogen reduction (endothermic reaction) instead of carbon reduction of iron oxide (iron ore). Nippon Steel will proceed with demonstration tests and work on promptly establishing the Super COURSE50 technology (to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50% or more) for large-scale blast furnaces.

This project was adopted as one of the Green Innovation Fund projects under New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in January 2022, after which it was decided to adopt the expansion of the fund in November 2023. A consortium has been formed to make progress in developing this project by the following four organizations: Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, Kobe Steel, Ltd., and The Japan Research and Development Center for Metals.

In the “Nippon Steel Carbon Neutral Vision 2050” announced in March 2021, Nippon Steel aims to achieve carbon neutrality using the following three super innovative technologies: (1) hydrogen injection into blast furnaces using this technology in addition to (2) high-grade steel production in large size EAF and (3) hydrogen direct reduction of iron.
 
Nippon Steel always pursues the world's best technology and manufacturing capabilities and will continue to contribute to the development of society through activities that are in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations ("Affordable and Clean Energy" and "Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure").

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