Japan's Nippon Steel said Jan. 26 it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mitsubishi Corp. and ExxonMobil Asia Pacific to capture carbon dioxide emissions from steel mills in Japan.

          The three companies signed the MOU "to jointly study carbon capture and storage and the establishment of potential CCS value chains in the Asia Pacific region," Nippon Steel said in a statement.

          The MOU also calls for the evaluation of the infrastructure required for a CCS system and storage opportunities in the Asia Pacific, including in Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia.

          "This is the first study to develop value chains for carbon capture in Japan with the aim to store elsewhere overseas in the region," Nippon Steel said.

          The MOU advances the steelmaker's plan to become carbon neutral by 2050. Nippon Steel aims to reduce CO2 emissions from 102 million mt/year to 70 million mt/year in 2030 and to zero in 2050.

          CCS together with carbon capture, utilization and storage or CCUS, large electric arc furnaces and hydrogen-based steelmaking are among the avenues that Nippon Steel will explore to become carbon neutral.

          It aims to set up a large EAF by 2030 based on research results gained from a pilot 10 mt EAF to be installed at its Hasaki research and development center at Kamisu City, Ibaraki prefecture, in 2024.

          Nippon Steel also expects to spend Yen 500 billion ($3.87 billion) on research and development and Yen 4 trillion-5 trillion on capital expenditure to achieve its carbon-neutral goals.

          CCUS will help decarbonize the steel industry and open new opportunities in the Asia Pacific, such as the use of commercial scale CO2-to-methanol processes, Nippon Steel said.