Sumitomo Corporation, Kumagai Gumi Co., Ltd., and JFE Steel Corporation announced today that JFE Steel’s “JGreeX” line of green steel products has been selected for some 400 tons, or roughly half, of major steel components to be used in the construction of a 10-story steel-frame office building, tentatively named “Suidobashi PREX”, in Tokyo. Construction is scheduled to begin this December and finish by March 2025. This will mark the first use of green steel materials by either Sumitomo Corporation or Kumagai Gumi, and JFE Steel’s first application of “JGreeX” in both the real estate and construction industries.

The use of “JGreeX” is expected to reduce total CO₂ emissions in the construction of “Suidobashi PREX” by about 400 tons, or more than 10%.

JFE Steel uses the mass-balance approach to quantify the significant reductions in CO₂ emissions it expects to achieve using advanced manufacturing processes to produce green steel. The environmental value of emission reductions across an entire manufacturing process is allocated to a subset of steel products that are deemed to have low CO₂ emissions intensity. JFE Steel follows the Japan Iron and Steel Federation’s guidelines on using this method to determine CO₂ emissions intensity.

Sumitomo Corporation’s PREX-branded business of developing and selling midsized office buildings covers all related processes, including land procurement, building design and construction, tenant acquisition and building sales. Under the PREX concept, Sumitomo Corporation helps tenants “build stronger teams” through innovations aimed at facilitating communication. To date, the company’s PREX business has completed 16 buildings, of which 13 have been sold. Going forward, Sumitomo Corporation plans to develop five PREX buildings per year, mainly in the central area of Tokyo.

Japan’s green transformation (GX) aimed at achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 includes net-zero initiatives by the real estate and construction industries. While energy savings and energy generation have long been key issues in the use of buildings, it is becoming increasingly important to reduce CO₂ across the entire lifecycles of buildings, from materials production and construction to disposal and recycling. The result has been a growing emphasis on using steel and other construction materials that have reduced carbon footprints.

Looking ahead, the three companies will continue striving to decarbonize their entire supply chains in order to contribute to a carbon-neutral world.

(PREX logo)

(JGreeX logo)

About JFE Steel Corporation

JFE Steel Corporation, one of the world’s leading integrated steel producers, was established through the consolidation of NKK Corporation and Kawasaki Steel Corporation in 2003. The company operates several steelworks in Japan and numerous branch offices and affiliates throughout the world. JFE Steel leverages world-class technologies and know-how to produce a wide range of products based on its “Only One, Number One” strategy of focusing on unique and best-in-class products. The company reported consolidated sales of 2,255 billion yen and consolidated crude steel output of 23.96 million tons in the fiscal year ended March 2021.

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