Japanese steelmaker Tokyo Steel has announced that domestic automaker Toyota Motor Corporation has selected its pickled hot rolled steel sheets for use in several domestically produced vehicle models. The product is produced exclusively from 100 percent iron scrap, using the electric arc furnace (EAF) method.
With carbon emissions of just 400 kg per ton, the material emits around one-fifth of the carbon emissions associated with conventional blast furnace-based steelmaking. The company highlights that the steel contributes not only to emissions reduction, but also to resource circulation and upcycling, aligning with the automotive sector’s sustainability goals.
Automotive-grade performance achieved using only scrap
Tokyo Steel said that its automotive steel sheet lineup includes grades up to 590 MPa. Historically, EAF-based steel has been considered difficult to apply in automotive steel sheets due to the strict requirements for component control and surface quality.
Most global examples of EAF automotive steel rely on diluting scrap with pig iron to stabilize quality. Producing automotive-grade steel solely from scrap, without pig iron, remains extremely rare internationally.
Sustainable mobility and circular economy
Tokyo Steel said this milestone advances its objective to expand the use of low-carbon EAF-based materials in automotive manufacturing, particularly as the sector accelerates electrification.
Tokyo Steel stated that it will continue enhancing the added value of EAF-produced steel and increasing its applications in next-generation mobility, contributing to a sustainable society and circular economy.
