
TOKYO -- Japan's second largest steelmaker JFE Steel will switch one of its furnaces to electric around 2028 as it aims to go greener, Nikkei has learned.
This will be the first time that any of Japan's top three steel companies have aimed to make their blast furnaces electric. According to people familiar with the matter, JFE will switch the No. 2 blast furnace at the Kurashiki Area of the West Japan Works, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, that needs to be replaced in the next five to six years to an electric one. The impact on its employment will be limited, according to sources.