Japan's JFE to convert Kawasaki site into hydrogen base

JFE Holdings

07/09/2023 06:14

TOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japan's JFE Holdings Inc
 5411.T  said on Thursday it will shut a blast furnace at its
Keihin plant in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, on Sept. 16 and convert
the site into a supply base of hydrogen and a cluster of
research and development centres for next-generation
technologies.
    Japan's second-biggest steelmaker announced the plan to
close the blast furnace in 2020, as part of its restructuring to
reflect falling local demand in the ageing society and
intensifying competition with Chinese rivals.
    The planned shutdown will reduce the number of its domestic
blast furnaces to 7, trimming its capacity of crude steel output
by 4 million metric tons or 13%.
    The steelmaker will keep some of the production facilities
such as plate mills, but will work with the Kawasaki city
government and other companies that have facilities in nearby
regions to make the industrial site into an area that will lead
Japan's push to build supply chains of carbon-neutral energy,
Makoto Iwayama, senior vice president of JFE, told reporters.
    

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))