Japan-based steel producer Nippon Steel Corporation has announced its decision to apply for Japanese government support to accelerate its transition to electric arc furnace (EAF)-based steelmaking.
The company stated that switching to the EAF process from the blast furnace (BF) process would require huge capital expenditures and would result in significant increases in production costs, including costs of raw materials and energy. It plans to use the undisclosed amount of government support to build a large-sized EAF at its Kyushu works, to expand the capacity of its existing EAF at its Setouchi works and resume its EAF operations at its Yamaguchi works.
Nippon Steel aims to become carbon neutral by 2050 by injecting hydrogen into BFs, using hydrogen in direct reduction of iron, and producing high-grade steel with large-sized EAFs.