Nippon Steel has established the “Nippon Steel Carbon Neutral Vision 2050” and is trying to decrease CO2 emissions as its most significant management challenge. NSCarbolexTM Neutral is a certified steel product that reduces CO2 emissions in the steelmaking process by allocating CO2 emissions Nippon Steel has lowered inhouse through these techniques. With the rapid increase of societal decarbonisation needs, we anticipate delays in decarbonisation will factor in our clients’ loss of competitiveness. Nippon Steel will help with customer decarbonisation by immediately creating a reliable supply structure for NSCarbolexTM  Neutral.

We are considering adopting a method (the mass balance method) as a certification method for reducing CO2 emissions in which the total amount of CO2 emissions that Nippon Steel has reduced by reforming and improving manufacturing processes, etc., are determined and allocated to any given steel product. The steel industry emits substantial amounts of CO2 in upstream operations (blast furnaces, for example), which are required for producing various steel products. It is believed that developing decarbonisation methods will take time. However, this technology will allow us to respond rapidly to consumer demands for steel goods while lowering CO2 emissions.

Furthermore, unlike the procurement of CO2 emission allowances through emissions trading, this strategy is based on genuine CO2 emission reductions by steelmakers. It is thus gaining attention and becoming more prevalent as a method of promoting CO2 emissions reduction. NSCarbolexTM Neutral will be furnished with a third-party certificate to assure impartiality, in addition to the CO2 emission reduction certificate issued by Nippon Steel. We want to engage JIC Quality Assurance Ltd. (JICQA) as a certifying body and have previously confirmed mass balance technique validation.

Nippon Steel seeks to reduce CO2 emissions through research and development by commercialising new and novel production processes, which will be used to supply NSCarbolexTM Neutral. We want to use the CO2 emission reduction effects of the new electric furnace in the Setouchi Works Hirohata Area (planned to begin commercial operation in 2022) and the benefits of other CO2 emission reduction efforts to increase the supply volume of NSCarbolexTM Neutral gradually.

Through research and development, Nippon Steel is working to reduce CO2 emissions by commercialising advanced and innovative manufacturing processes and will apply these results to the supply of NSCarbolexTM Neutral. In the coming years, we plan to take advantage of the CO2 emission reduction effects of the new electric furnace in the Setouchi Works Hirohata Area (scheduled to start commercial operation within 2022). We also plan to progressively take advantage of the effects of other CO2 emissions reduction measures to expand the supply volume of NSCarbolexTM  Neutral