Nippon Kyushu Works (Yawata Area, Tobata) steel plant

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Nippon Kyushu Works (Yawata Area, Tobata) steel plant (九州制铁所八幡地区, 九州製鉄所八幡地区), also known as Kyushu Works Yawata Area (Tobata Area), is a steel plant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 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 Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan:

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  • Location: 1-1 Tobihata-cho, Tobata-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Pref. 804-8501, Japan
  • Coordinates (WGS 84): 33.911803, 130.838014 (exact)

Background

Tabata Works (Yawata Area) was founded in 1901.[1] In October 2024, Nippon Steel announced its plan to build a new electric arc furnace at the plant aiming to accelerate its decarbonisation efforts. The company sought government subsidy for financing the development. The new furnace is expected to replace its existing BOF facility that is producing 3.6 million tonnes per year of crude steel.[2]

Nippon Steel in 2025 announced plans to invest a total of JPY866.7 (around USD 6.0 billion) billion by 2029, supported by up to JPY251.4 billion (around USD 1.7 billion) in government subsidies. Projects include expanding EAF capacity at Setouchi, converting from BF-BOF to EAF at Yawata, and restarting EAF operations at Shunan.[3] The new EAF furnace at this plant will have a production capacity of 2 mtpa and is scheduled to commence production in the second half of the fiscal year 2029.[4]

Ownership Tree

This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Announced date Start date Workforce size Power source Iron ore source Coal source
1896[5] 1901[6] 1789[7] in-plant power generation, also provides power generated via coal to Kyushu Electric Power (does not distinguish between Tobata and Kokura facilities of Yawata); Tobata power station (due to aging, there are plans to replace it with a 2000mw LNG power plant by 2040)[8][9][10][6] Imported from Australia, Brazil and India[11] Australia and Canada[12]

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Parent company Parent company PermID Parent GEM entity ID Owner Owner company PermID Owner GEM entity ID
Nippon Steel Corp [100.0%] 4295877313 [100.0%] E100000000652 [100.0%] Nippon Steel Corp [100%][13] 4295877313 E100000000652 [100%]

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category Steel products ISO 14001 ISO 50001 Responsible steel Main production equipment
semi-finished, finished rolled[14] rail, plate, bar, pipe, piling, wire[14] yes[15] unknown[15] unknown 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[16] 2000[16]
operating pre-retirement 3726[17] – 3726[17]

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 4543[18] 4543[18]

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

Ferronickel Sinter Coke Pellets
NF NF NF NF

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

Year BOF production Total (all routes)
2019 3599[6] 3599[6]
2020 3254[19] 3254[19]
2021 3727[17] 3727[17]
2022 3611[20] 3611[20]
2023 3723[21] 3723[21]
2024 3700[22] 3700[22]
2025 unknown –

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
2024 unknown –
2025 unknown –

Unit Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name Status Start date Current size Current capacity (ttpa) Decarbonization technology Most recent relining
BF 4 operating[23] 1972[24] 5000.0[6][25] 4543[18] unknown 2014-04-20[24]

Table 10: Electric Arc Furnace Details

Unit name Status Announced date Start date Furnace manufacturer and model Current capacity (ttpa) Current size (tonnes)
unknown EAF (1) announced[26] 2024-10-11[26][27] 2029[28] Tenova Consteel[29][29] 2000[16] 340.0[29]

Table 11: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details

Unit name Scrap-based % scrap % DRI % HBI % sponge iron (unknown if DRI or HBI) % basic/merchant pig iron % granulated pig iron % pig iron (unknown if basic/merchant or granulated) % other iron
unknown EAF (1) None unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown

Table 12: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details

Unit name Status Retired date Current capacity (ttpa) Current size
unknown BOF (1) operating pre-retirement[27][20] 2029 609[17] 170.0 tonnes[6][25]
unknown BOF (2) operating pre-retirement[27][20] 2029 609[17] 170.0 tonnes[6][25]
unknown BOF (3) operating pre-retirement[27][20] 2029 1254[17] 350.0 tonnes[6][25]
unknown BOF (4) operating pre-retirement[27][20] 2029 1254[17] 350.0 tonnes[6][25]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

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

References

  1. ↑ "Basic Facts About Nippon Steel" (PDF). Nippon Steel. 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ Maekawa, Yusuke (2024-10-15). "* | Latest Market News | Argus Media". www.argusmedia.com. Retrieved 2024-12-17.
  3. ↑ "2025 Integrated Report Updates: Nippon Steel - Transition Asia". transitionasia.org. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  4. ↑ "Nippon Steel to invest in EAFs at three plants". www.steelorbis.com. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  5. ↑ (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240124202919/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229950652.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20200614234628/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/ir/library/pdf/factbook2019_all.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-14. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20220120194201/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/factbook/09-01.html. Archived from the original on 2022-01-20. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ https://beyond-coal.jp/en/news/data-update-202505/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ https://www.gem.wiki/Tobata_power_station. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ https://japanenergyhub.com/news/nippon-steel-kyushu-yawata-lng-project/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240124203736/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/factbook/2023/11-06.html. Archived from the original on 2024-01-24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "Raw Materials and Fuel". www.nipponsteel.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  13. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20211020151842/https://www.nipponsteel.com/works/kyushu/index.html. Archived from the original on 2021-10-20. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220120104734/https://www.nipponsteel.com/works/kyushu/yawata/product/index.html. Archived from the original on 2022-01-20. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20201029114814/https://www.nipponsteel.com/works/kyushu/yawata/iso/index.html. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/nippon-steel-electric-arc-furnace-investments-japan-government-funds-recycling/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/factbook/2022/11-04.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220722183713/https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/blast-furnace. Archived from the original on 2022-07-22. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318092755/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/factbook/11-04.html. Archived from the original on 2022-03-18. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 https://web.archive.org/web/20240123003258/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/factbook/2023/11-04.html. Archived from the original on 2024-01-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Outline of the Manufacturing Base". www.nipponsteel.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 https://www.nipponsteel.com/ir/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ↑ "Interests in raw materials" (PDF). 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-01-25. Retrieved 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20210627232425/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/news/20140421_100.html. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220130014556/https://www.nipponsteel.com/en/ir/library/pdf/nsc_en_ir_2021_a3.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-01-30. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Halina Yermolenko (2024-10-16). "Nippon Steel has applied for a subsidy to build new EAFs". GMK Center. Archived from the original on 2024-12-18. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Yusuke Maekawa (2024-10-15). "*". www.argusmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2024-12-18. Retrieved 2024-12-16. {{cite web}}: Text "Argus Media" ignored (help); Text "Latest Market News" ignored (help)
  28. ↑ https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/nippon-steel-to-invest-in-eafs-at-three-plants-1394154.htm. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 https://www.aist.org/tenova-selected-to-supply-world%E2%80%99s-largest-eaf-to-nippon-steel. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Resources

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