Japanese
steelmaker Kobe Steel has announced that it will launch Kobenable Steel – the
name it gives to its CO2 reduction
solution – and, according to its own survey, become Japan’s first provider of
low CO2 blast
furnace steel products.
Kobenable Steel, which will be sold on the market this fiscal
year, will be the result of a process that will significantly reduce CO2 emissions during the blast furnace ironmaking
process, claims Kobe Steel.
Kobenable Steel is based on the KOBELCO Group's CO2 Reduction Solution for Blast Furnace
Ironmaking, which was announced announced on 16 February 2021. According to
Kobe Steel, it utilizes a technology that can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the blast furnace, which was
demonstrated by charging a large amount of HBI into the blast furnace at the
company’s Kakogawa Works. The HBI was produced using the Midrex process, says
Kobe Steel.
The company plans to launch Kobenable Steel (low CO2 blast furnace steel) in two product
categories. First, the product will be manufactured using the conventional
blast furnace process and will be available for all of the company's steel products
produced at the company's Kakogawa Works and its Kobe Wire Rod & Bar Plant.
In addition, customers will be able to continue using Kobe's
conventional blast furnace steel products for special steel wire rods and
ultra-high-tensile strength steel, which are the company's speciality.
For commercial purposes, reduced CO2 emissions
are calculated using the mass balance methodology whereby CO2 reduction effects are allocated to specific
steel products, in accordance with ISO 20915. The calculation method and
results are certified by DNV Business Assurance Services UK Ltd., a third-party
certification body. At the point of sale, Kobe Steel will provide its customers
with a third-party certificate issued by DNV and a low-CO2 steel
product certificate issued by Kobe.
Kobe Steel believes that its pioneering development of Kobenable
Steel to be a major contribution towards a greener society. The company claims
that it 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
realise a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfil their hopes
and dreams while enjoying safe, secure and prosperous lives'.