Kobe Steel, Vale and Mitsui & Co. to collaborate in low CO₂ ironmaking solutions

TOKYO, July 13, 2020 — Kobe Steel, Ltd., together with its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Midrex Technologies, Inc., has reached a non-binding agreement with Vale S.A., the world's largest iron ore producer, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a global trading and investment company with a diversified business portfolio, to collaborate in providing low CO₂ iron metallics and ironmaking solutions to the world's steel industry.

Steel is a fundamental material that supports everyday life and is used in a variety of industries including infrastructure and consumer goods. Steel is noted for its competitive advantages in terms of resource availability, manufacturing costs and functional flexibility. Kobe Steel is contributing to reducing CO₂ emissions through various products, such as high tensile strength steel sheets for automotive weight reduction. However, as the CO₂ emissions arising from the steel manufacturing process are also an issue from the standpoint of climate change, there is a growing need worldwide to reduce CO₂ emissions in the steel industry.

The MIDREX^® Process is the world’s leading direct reduction ironmaking technology, with MIDREX Plants producing more than 60% of the world’s direct reduced iron. Because the MIDREX Process uses natural gas (or gas derived from coal) to reduce iron ore for use in steelmaking, its CO₂ emission level is lower than the blast furnace route. Kobe Steel considers that the MIDREX Process will play an important role in promoting this initiative.

Kobe Steel and Midrex will utilize the collective strengths of their products, people and technologies in this initiative. In collaboration with Vale and Mitsui & Co., the Kobe Steel Group is committed to contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in steel production worldwide.

The MIDREX^® Process uses natural gas (or gas derived from coal) as the reductant. Pellets made of iron ore are reduced in a shaft furnace to make DRI. In comparison to the blast furnace method of ironmaking, the MIDREX Process can offer lower CO₂ emissions. There are over 90 MIDREX Modules worldwide.

DRI is a raw material for steelmaking made by reducing iron ore. With few impurities, DRIS is a metallic used mainly in electric arc furnaces as a supplement or substitute for high quality scrap and pig iron. In recent years, DRI is also used in blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces.