Japanese steel producer JFE has made the final investment decision on its first large-scale electric arc furnace (EAF) plant as part of the company's decarbonisation efforts, it announced today.
JFE will invest ¥329bn ($2.2bn) in a 2mn t/yr EAF steel production facility in western Okayama, aiming to start commercial operations sometime during April-June 2028, according to the firm. This would make it the largest EAF facility by capacity in Japan, the firm said, adding that JFE is likely to replace its existing basic oxygen furnaces (BOF) plant although further details were yet undecided.
JFE initially expected to start mass production in 2027, but it delayed the project partly because the ¥105bn subsidy from the Japanese government was approved only on 9 April, the firm said.
Major domestic steel producers using the BOF method are accelerating their shift to EAFs to meet decarbonisation goals.
The country's largest steel mill Nippon Steel started EAF commercial operations in 2022, and it plans to invest in another EAF plant in the southern Kyushu area. This is to replace the existing BOF facility that is producing 3.6mn t/yr of steel products, according to Nippon.
Kobe Steel, the third-largest domestic steel firm, also announced in May 2024 that it will introduce a new EAF sometime during the 2030s, looking to replace one of the two BOFs at its Kakogawa steel works in the country's western Hyogo prefecture.
Japan aims to hit its net zero emission goal by 2050 and it is critical to reduce greenhouse gas emission from the steel industry, which accounts for 35pc of total emissions in the country's manufacturing industry.
