【ferro-alloys.com】

  Nippon Steel Corporation, which is based in Japan, said that under its new five-year plan, it would reduce crude steel capacity by 20% by 2025, close its blast furnaces to cope with falling domestic demand and aim to help the country achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The company plans to close one blast furnace at the Kansai plant in the first half of 2021, one year ahead of schedule, and close another blast furnace at the East Japan plant by the end of 2024.

  More than 10000 employees will be affected by the closure of the blast furnace and the previous measures taken for green technology. By 2025, the labor force will be reduced.

  The company's new five-year plan requires 2.4 trillion yen (22.12 billion US dollars) of capital expenditure. Nippon Steel will also spend 600 billion yen (US $5.5 billion) to expand its business in India and acquire steel plants in other countries.

  The company also plans to reduce its business's carbon emissions by 30% by 2030. According to the company's statement, it will take about 500 billion yen (US $4.6 billion) for R & D and 4-5 trillion yen for facility investment to realize the blast furnace hydrogen reduction process. Moreover, even at the best of times, the cost of producing crude steel by 2050 is likely to be more than twice the current cost.

• [Editor:Catherine Ren]