Japanese automaker Nissan has announced plans to reduce CO₂ emission in its production through the use of low-CO₂-emission steel manufactured in Japan.
The company in a press release on 7 February said it intends to increase the proportion of low-CO₂-emission steel it uses in Japan in fiscal year 2025 by a factor of five compared to fiscal year 2023.
This is geared towards reaching the goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by 30% throughout the entire product life cycle by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Decarbonizing Nissan production
Nissan intends to decarbonize its entire production process starting from material procurement in order to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
According to the company, steel parts account for roughly 60% of vehicle weight, so use of green steel significantly reduces CO₂ emission during the vehicle’s life cycle.
“A significant portion of CO₂ emissions originates from reducing iron ore in blast furnaces. With green steel, the aim is to reduce CO₂ emissions by using raw materials from iron ore to low-carbon reduced iron, or by switching from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces.”
The company started using green steel in Japan in 2023 with the adoption of Kobenable Steel from Kobe Steel.
Now, it wants to expand this practice through the use of green steel products including NSCarbolex Neutral, JGreeX, and carbon reduction-allocated steel from Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Steel Corporation, and POSCO respectively.
Contributing its quota
There has been a major shift in vehicle manufacture towards electric vehicles.
Even though Nissan isn’t big on electric vehicles yet, the company continues to play its part to contribute towards protecting the environment..
This is why it entered into a merger agreement with Honda as a strategy to survive the transition.
Although the merger hit a roadblock and may not work out, Nissan remains committed to environmental consciousness in its business.
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