JFE West Japan Works (Kurashiki) steel plant

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JFE West Japan Works (Kurashiki) steel plant (西日本製鉄所 倉敷地区), also known as JFE - Kawasaki Steel, Kawasaki Mizushima works (formerly), is a steel plant in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan that operates blast furnace (BF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan:

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  • Location: 1 Mizushima Kawasaki-dori, Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Pref. 712-8511 Japan
  • Coordinates (WGS 84): 34.501198, 133.722123 (exact)

Background

The JFE West Japan Works (Kurashiki) steel plant began operating in 2003 under the JFE group.[1]

In 2017, the JFE Group began construction for a casting plant with an investment of JPY 53 million that will add to the plant's plate capacity.[2]

In 2021, they also renovated the 4th blast furnace.[3]

In 2022, in the company's Environmental Vision 2050, JFE steel announced its plan to shut down one blast furnace with the possibility of introducing large high efficiency EAF at the Kurashiki plant.[4] In November 2023, the company announced the details of the new EAF with an annual capacity of 2 mtpa to be commissioned by 2027.[5] JFE Steel is conducting a study of shutting down one blast furnace at the timing of a relining scheduled for the 2027–2030 timeframe, while introducing the high efficiency, large-scale electric arc furnace at the plant.[6]

Starting in FY2030 and beyond, blast furnaces 5, 4, and 3 of Fukuyama Works and blast furnace 3 of Kurashiki Works are expected to undergo refurbishment.[7]

Taking advantage of the location of the Mizushima Complex, West Japan Works (Kurashiki District) and ENEOS Corporation, which is situated adjacent, have started a joint study on hydrogen utilization, aiming to build a hydrogen supply chain by 2030 (up to approx. 100,000 t-H2/year).[8]

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Construction date Start date Workforce size Power source Iron ore source Coal source
1961[9] 1967[9] 5730[10] unknown Australia, Brazil and India[11] unknown

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Parent company Parent company PermID Parent company GEM ID Owner Owner company PermID Owner company GEM ID
JFE Holdings Inc [100.0%] 4295880726 [100.0%] E100000000643 [100.0%] JFE Steel Corp [100%][12] 4295877328 E100000003335 [100%]

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category Steel products Steel sector end users ISO 14001 Main production equipment
semi-finished, finished rolled[13] wire rod, rail, sheet, plate, coated, bar, pipe, piling, profile[13] automotive, building and infrastructure, energy, steel packaging, tools and machinery, transport[13] yes[14] BF; BOF; EAF

Table 4: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

1Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status1 Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
announced 2000[15][16] 2000[15][16]
operating 2000[17][18][11] 2000[17][18][11]
operating pre-retirement 7999[17][18][11] 7999[17][18][11]

Table 5: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

1Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status1 Blast furnace capacity Nominal iron capacity (total)
operating 7600[19][20][21] 7600[19][20][21]
operating pre-retirement 3684[22] 3684[22]

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Sinter Coke
>0[23] >0[13]

Table 7: Actual Plant-level Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year BOF production Total (all routes)
2019 8126[24] 8126[24]
2020 6783[25] 6783[25]
2021 7826[26] 7826[26]
2022 7826[27] 7826[27]
2023 7957[28] 7957[28]

Table 8: Actual Plant-level Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year BF production Other/unknown iron production
2019 unknown unknown
2020 unknown unknown
2021 unknown unknown
2022 unknown unknown
2023 unknown unknown

Unit Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name Status Start date Retired date Current size Current capacity (ttpa) Decarbonization technology Most recent relining
BF 2 operating pre-retirement[29] 2027[30][31] 4100.0 m3[29] 3684[22] unknown 2003-11[32]
BF 3 operating[29] 5055.0 m3[29] 3800[19][20] unknown 2010-02[33]
BF 4 operating[29] 1973[9] 5100.0 m3[29] 3800[21][19] unknown 2021-12-13[34]

Table 10: Electric Arc Furnace Details

Unit name Status Announced date Start date Current capacity (ttpa) Current size (tonnes)
unknown EAF (1) announced[15] 2023-11-10[16] 2027[35][16] 2000[15][16] 300.0[36][15]

Table 11: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details

Unit name Scrap-based % scrap % HBI
unknown EAF (1) None[15] unknown[16] >0[16]

Table 12: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details

Unit name Status Retired date Furnace manufacturer and model Current capacity (ttpa) Current size
unknown BOF (1) operating[9][20] 1000[11][17][18] 200.0 tonnes[24][23][20][9][37][33]
unknown BOF (2) operating[9][20] 1000[11][17][18] 200.0 tonnes[24][23][20][9][37][33]
unknown BOF (3) operating pre-retirement[38] 2030[39] 1000[11][17][18] 200.0 tonnes[24][23][20][9][37][33]
unknown BOF (4) operating pre-retirement[39] 2030[39] K-BOP converter[11] 2333[17][18] 320.0 tonnes[24][23][20][9][37][33]
unknown BOF (5) operating pre-retirement[39] 2030[39] K-BOP converter[11] 2333[17][18] 310.0 tonnes[24][23][11][20][9][37][33]
unknown BOF (6) operating pre-retirement[39] 2030[39] K-BOP Converter[11] 2333[17][18] 310.0 tonnes[24][23][11][20][9][37][33]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

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  2. "JFE Steel starts operating continuous casting plant No. 7 in Kurashiki". Steel Orbis. 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2022-03-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. Institute, Strategic Research. "JFE Steel Fires Renovated BF 4 at West Japan Works Kurashiki Ward". SteelGuru Business News. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
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