TOKYO : JFE Steel, Japan’s No. 2 steelmaker and a unit of JFE Holdings, said on Thursday it will invest 329.4 billion yen ($2.26 billion) to build a large, advanced electric arc furnace (EAF) at its Kurashiki plant in western Japan.
The move is part of efforts to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and follows the government’s approval on Wednesday for up to 104.5 billion yen in support for the project.
Steelmaking, one of the most CO2-intensive industries, faces growing pressure to curb emissions to combat climate change.
The new EAF, with an annual production capacity of about 2 million metric tons, is expected to begin operations in the April-June quarter of 2028.
In 2023, JFE’s top executive said the company was considering replacing the No.2 blast furnace at Kurashiki with a high-grade steel-producing EAF around 2027, when the unit is due for refurbishment.
($1 = 145.8600 yen)
