Japan: METI doubles budget for decarbonising steelmaking R&D

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has announced that it will double the budget for research and development projects aimed at decarbonising the steelmaking process. An additional JPY 256.4 billion ($1.7 billion) will be added to the budget of the Green Innovation (GI) Fund, and approximately JPY 450 billion ($3.06 billion) will be invested in the existing budget of JPY 193.5 billion ($1.32 billion) to accelerate research and development and accelerate the time for practical application.

The additional budget will be allocated to the expansion of demonstration facilities for existing projects, such as technology to utilise hydrogen as a reducing material in blast furnaces, as well as the development of technologies for the use of new electric melting furnaces.

The additional budget was allocated to JPY 29.6 billion ($0.2 billion) for technology to utilise hydrogen generated in steelworks as a reducing material, JPY 117.2 billion ($0.79 billion) for external hydrogen utilisation in blast furnaces, JPY 79.6 billion ($0.54 billion) for direct hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology, JPY 7.0 billion ($0.04 billion) for impurity removal technology in electric furnaces, and JPY 23 billion ($0.15 billion) for melter-related technologies.

Regarding the use of hydrogen in blast furnaces, the scale of the demonstration facility will be expanded to about one-fifth of the actual equipment, and technical issues necessary for practical application will be identified. As a result, the target date for practical use, which was initially set for the mid-2040, will be brought forward by about five years.

This significant investment in decarbonising steelmaking is a welcome development, as the steel industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The technologies being developed through these R&D projects have the potential to revolutionise the steelmaking process and make it much cleaner and more sustainable.

Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.