Machinery, Natural Resources and Engineering

Pulverized iron ore and non-coking coal are generally difficult to use in blast furnaces. But by using ITmk3^® technology, which was first developed by Kobe Steel as a third-generation ironmaking process in 1996, we can turn these raw materials into high-grade iron nuggets in just 10 minutes.

This means that there is no need for a sintering plant to process lump ore or coke ovens to process coking coal, which would be required if using a conventional blast furnace. In addition to reducing the environmental impact of NOx and SOx emissions, there is also potential to reduce CO₂ emissions by approximately 20% in emerging markets and at mine sites compared to ironmaking using blast furnace.

In January 2010, we started up the world's first commercial ITmk3^® plant in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The plant has been supplying iron nuggets for the production of high-grade steel using electric furnaces. We expect to be operating at full capacity by the second half of 2011, producing around 500,000 tons of iron nuggets a year.

We are also planning to roll out the same new technology to other parts of the world, including India, Vietnam and North America.

We have developed a high efficiency steam supply system as part of a four-way joint project between Kobe Steel, Tokyo Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power and Kansai Electric Power.

Until now, we have always used boilers to supply the high temperature steam (120˚C+) that we use at our works and other plants for processes such as sterilization, condensation, drying and distillation. We have now developed the world's first high efficiency commercial heat pump system that is capable of supplying steam at temperatures in excess of 120˚C using low-temperature heat source water. The system enables an energy saving of approximately 60% compared to a conventional gas boiler, and also reduces CO₂ emissions by around 70%.

A heating tower system that uses a water-cooled chiller fitted with an ultra high efficiency four-way valve, developed by Kobe Steel, has been used as part of major community heating and cooling facilities in the area around Tokyo Sky Tree®. The system has been highly acclaimed for the fact that it maintains functionality during winter months and the ease with which it can switch between cold and hot water.

The system has been installed in an underground machinery room and consists of a refrigeration unit (1) and a cooling/heating tower fitted on the roof (2), joined by two connecting pipes (3). The refrigeration unit itself includes a screw compressor, a water heat exchanger, a condenser, an expansion valve and a directional refrigerant valve.

It is estimated that the system will cut office building running costs by 40% compared with a gas-fired absorption air conditioning system and enable a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions.

We are currently working on the development of a compact binary generation system and aim to achieve commercialization in fiscal 2011.

Binary generation involves heating and evaporating a liquid with a low boiling point via a heat exchanger, using untapped energy sources such as industrial exhaust heat and geothermal heat. The resulting steam is then used to turn a turbine and generate electricity. Here at Kobe Steel, we are developing a binary generation system with a power output of 100kW, using exhaust heat and hot water at temperatures of 80-90˚C and our specialized screw technology. We decided to use a screw system because it is capable of generating electricity using relatively small quantities of hot water.

We are aiming to achieve sales of around ¥2 billion by fiscal 2015, marketing to small- and medium-scale food and chemical plants and hot spring facilities.

High-purity ammonia is essential part in manufacturing LEDs, which are used for LCD backlighting in items such as computers and TVs. With more and more semiconductor plants being relocated to China in recent years, there is growing demand for large containers that can be safely filled with high-purity ammonia for shipment to China in stable condition.

Shinko Industrial has successfully developed high-purity ammonia containers using its very own barrel polishing technology. This involves putting an abrasive polishing agent inside a steel container and rotating it, which causes the polishing agent to grind the inner surface of the container. Shinko Industrial has begun shipping high-purity ammonia containers to users in China.

In February 2011, Kobelco Construction Machinery's hydraulic excavators with Auto Idle Stop (AIS) capabilities were registered on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's New Technology Information System (NETIS)*.

AIS technology detects when the operator has pulled up the safety lock lever on the excavator and, after a certain interval, automatically turns off the engine. In addition to preventing the operator from forgetting to turn off the engine when getting out of the machine, AIS can potentially reduce fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by approximately 20%. Following on from Kobelco's low-noise hydraulic excavators with iNDr cooling systems, which were registered on NETIS in 2010, all of the company's hydraulic excavators are now NETIS registered**.