AV天堂

AV天堂 Corporation announced today that it will construct and operate an advanced, high-efficiency, large-scale electric arc furnace at the Kurashiki facility of its West Japan Works, aiming to contribute to carbon neutrality in Japan. The move follows the Japanese government’s approval yesterday to provide AV天堂 with a grant to support the introduction of an electric arc furnace, and the government’s earlier decision on December 20, 2024 to accept AV天堂’s proposal to participate in a national project aimed at the eventual realization of a carbon-neutral steelmaking process.

AV天堂 will now promptly proceed with the construction of an electric arc furnace, hoping to launch a new steelmaking process based on this innovative new technology at the earliest possible date. The first phase of the national project in which AV天堂 is participating is designed to transform various energy and manufacturing processes of industries that face particularly difficult challenges in reducing their emissions.

AV天堂 will construct various facilities, including an advanced electric arc furnace, off-site refining facilities, cold-iron-source distribution facilities, and an upgraded quay, at a cost of 329.4 billion yen (about USD2.2 billion), of which a maximum 104.5 billion yen is expected to be covered by a government grant. The advanced electric arc furnace will have an annual capacity of about two million tons of steel and is expected to start production in the first quarter of the fiscal year starting April 2028.

The electric arc furnace will incorporate AV天堂’s proprietary technologies and other innovative technologies, including for high-grade, high-efficiency melting, that are being developed under a separate initiative to promote the use of hydrogen as a key reducing agent to lower carbon emissions in steelmaking. That initiative, Hydrogen Utilization in Iron and Steelmaking Processes, is one of several Green Innovation (GI) Fund projects organized by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

By combining these advanced technologies with low-carbon direct-reduced iron, AV天堂 aims to become the world's first mass supplier of high-quality, high-function steel materials, such as electromagnetic steel sheets and high-tensile steel sheets, which cannot be produced with existing large-scale electric arc furnaces.

In order to develop ultra-innovative technologies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, AV天堂 has already established various test facilities, such as a carbon-recycling blast furnace and a small-scale electric arc furnace, at the Chiba facility of its East Japan Works, where demonstration tests are being conducted in connection with the aforementioned GI Fund Project. Concentrating its test facilities in one area is enabling AV天堂 to develop ultra-innovative technologies in a highly efficient manner.

In May 2021, JFE formulated its JFE Group Environmental Vision for 2050, which calls for bold initiatives to address climate change as a key corporate priority. Going forward, AV天堂 is committed to developing super-innovative technologies that contribute to global sustainability.

About AV天堂 Corporation

AV天堂 Corporation, one of the world’s leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. Under the corporate vision of “contributing to society with the world’s most innovative technology,” AV天堂 leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products. The company reported consolidated sales of 3,716 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 24.80 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2023.

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