TOKYO -- Nippon Steel, Japan's largest steelmaker, will strive to replace coal-fired furnaces with hydrogen technology as it chases its goal of carbon-free steelmaking, company President Eiji Hashimoto told Nikkei. This is in line with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to zero on a net basis by 2050 and with U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's designs on protecting the environment.
Hashimoto also stressed that government support will be crucial if Japan is to compete with the U.S. and China in 21st-century steelmaking.
