By Daiki Kawasaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

21:00 JST, December 8, 2025

Major Japanese steel companies are conducting tests utilizing hydrogen in the extraction of iron from iron ore in the pursuit of decarbonization.

Steelmakers are working to establish so-called green steel manufacturing technologies, but developing the technologies and realizing mass production would significantly increase costs, presenting high hurdles to full-scale implementation.

The mainstream method of steelmaking involves putting iron ore and coke into a blast furnace operating at high temperatures. The oxygen is separated from the iron in a reduction reaction, and large amounts of carbon dioxide are also generated. The steel industry accounts for 13% of Japan’s total CO2 emissions.

The replacement of blast furnaces with electric furnaces, which reduce emissions by about 75%, is progressing. However, because scrap iron is used as a raw material, impurities are........

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