Hot-briquetted iron and ferrous scrap will become increasingly important as key steelmaking raw materials in Japan, according to SMBC Nikko Securities' senior analyst Atsushi Yamaguchi.
Speaking at the Asia panel session at Steel Success Strategies 2021 on Wednesday June 23, Yamaguchi said the move will happen because of increasing concerns over carbon emissions in Japan, where major steel producers, such as Nippon Steel and JFE Steel, are undertaking various projects related to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and producing zero-carbon steel.There remain niggling tensions about replacing large blast furnaces with electric-arc furnaces (EAFs), due to the economies of scale and efficiencies that can be...