It is reported that Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp and 3 other steel companies have announced that they will build an experimental hydrogen-fueled blast furnace to reduce CO2 emissions.
The furnace is part of a project by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation on behalf of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization to develop new steelmaking technologies.
The aim of this project is to cut industry CO2 emissions by 30% by the year 2030, with 10% contributed from a partial changeover from coal to hydrogen.
In Japan, the four companies that operate blast furnaces account for 15% of the country's total CO2 emissions.
The experimental furnace will be built at a Nippon Steel facility in Kimitsu at a cost of 15 billion yen over five years. Completion is planned for fiscal 2015 while a test run will last until fiscal year 2017.
Source:
http://www.yieh.com/2.2.01.01stainlesssteelnews.aspx?no=65770&division=A9
