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'.