Kobe Steel’s low-CO₂ blast furnace steel product Kobenable® Steel adopted for Toyota mass-produced vehicles
Nov. 11, 2025
Kobe Steel, Ltd.
Kobe Steel, Ltd. announces that its low-CO2 blast furnace steel product Kobenable® Steel has been adopted by Toyota Motor Corporation for its mass-produced vehicles. Kobenable® Premier, which reduces 100% of CO2 emissions in steel production based on the mass balance method,*1 will be used as part of steel sheet materials.
Kobenable® Steel, developed by Kobe Steel based on its original CO2 reduction solution,*2 is available for all types of steel products (steel sheets, steel plates, wire rods and bars) manufactured at the company’s Kakogawa Works and Kobe Wire Rod & Bar Plant. In addition, since it maintains the same level of high quality as conventional products, customers can use low-CO2 blast furnace steel for products that require high quality, such as special steel wire rods and ultra-high-tensile strength steel, which are Kobe Steel’s specialties.
Toyota Motor Corporation adopted Kobenable® Steel for use in specific components of its hydrogen engine-equipped racing vehicle, the Corolla, in 2022 and the carbon-neutral fuel vehicle GR86 in 2023.*3 Following these successful applications, Kobe Steel and Toyota discussed and studied the potential use of Kobenable® Steel in mass-produced vehicle parts, leading to this adoption.
Kobe Steel Group, also known as the Kobelco Group, is working on the transformation into an appealing company, as set out in its Medium-Term Management Plan (Fiscal 2024–2026). As part of this effort, the Group is advancing an initiative called KOBELCO-X, which spans a wide range of transformations. The adoption of Kobenable® Steel for mass-produced vehicles is linked to Green Transformation (GX)―Contributing to societal decarbonization through providing low-CO2 blast furnace steel product Kobenable® Steel to the automotive industry.
The Kobelco Group is also taking on the challenge of realizing carbon neutrality under the Medium-Term Management Plan. The promotion of low-CO2 steel products is an initiative that contribute to achieving this goal.
We will move forward with our transformation initiatives aimed at making our company more appealing to all of our stakeholders, while continuing to provide solutions to the needs of society through the integration of our distinctive technologies, products, and services, as we strive to create a world in which people, now and in the future, can fulfill their hopes and dreams while enjoying safe, secure, and prosperous lives.
- *1. Mass-balance method:
Steelmakers allocate their CO2 reductions to a certain portion of products by receiving a certificate for their CO2 reductions in accordance with the Guidelines for Green Transition/Transformation Steel (GX Steel) established by the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF). The items that have been allocated CO2 reductions are classified as steel products with low-CO2 emission intensity. Our low-CO2 blast furnace steel product is a GX steel product as defined by the JISF.
- *2. Kobe Steel’s original CO2 reduction solution for blast furnace ironmaking:
This technology, demonstrated at Kobe Steel’s production site Kakogawa Works, achieves a significant reduction of CO2 emissions from the blast furnace by charging into the blast furnace a large amount of hot briquetted iron (HBI) manufactured via the MIDREX® Process, a direct reduced ironmaking process, which accounts for about 80% of the world’s natural gas-based direct reduced iron (DRI) production (60% of the world’s overall DRI production). It can reduce CO2 emissions in the blast furnace ironmaking process by 20–40%.
- *3. Application of Kobenable® Steel in Toyota racing vehicles:
Kobenable® Steel Product Trademark
- *The information on this web site is presented "as is." Product availability, organization, and other content may differ from the time the information was originally posted. Changes may take place without notice.
