Japan achieves first successful prototype of green hydrogen steelmaking

A consortium of seven organizations, including NEDO and JFE Steel, has announced the successful prototype production of reduced iron using green hydrogen in Japan for the first time. The project, part of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund, focuses on developing direct hydrogen reduction technology to reduce low-grade iron ore.

By using hydrogen as a reducing agent instead of traditional coke, the process emits water instead of CO2, offering a pathway to significantly reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking. This development builds upon decades of Japanese research into high-temperature gas utilization and coal gasification, evolving from 1970s-era nuclear steelmaking concepts to modern hydrogen-based processes.