Japan: Toyota Motor adopts Kobe Steel’s newly developed low CO2 steel in its race car

Toyota Motor adopted Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel’s low carbon dioxide “covenable steel” in its race vehicles, Japan Metal Daily reports. This was the first supply of low CO2 steel in Japan.

It was used in the suspension parts of Toyota’s “hydrogen engine Corolla”. This race car ran in a 24-hour endurance race held at Fuji Speedway between 3 June and 5 June 2022.

By putting certain amount of reduced iron into blast furnace, the steel major Kobe Steel developed a technology to cut CO2 emissions. It was produced in the blast furnace of the Kakogawa works in October 2021.

Based on the track record, the steel material used this time has been certified as a low CO2 steel material with a reduction of 100% using the “mass balancing method”, a method of allocating the actual CO2 reduction amount to the manufactured steel material.

In CY21, Toyota Motor introduced a vehicle with hydrogen engine which does not emit CO2 into endurance races. Kobe Steel’s “covenable steel” has been adopted by Toyota as an effort to achieve carbon neutral mobility society.

Note: This article has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and SteelMint.