Comment: Green energy made with green steel? Not when Nippon Steel’s green steel is coal in disguise

Tokyo, Japan, 31 July 2025 – Nippon Steel’s signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the Danish wind turbine maker Vestas Wind System [1] leaves a question whether this significant green supply chain opportunity could be a truly near-zero emissions transition in the long term, or not. 

Nippon Steel is planning to supply so-called “mass balance” products, which allow steelmakers to assign emissions reductions from one part of their operations to unrelated steel products. These products, branded as NSCarbolex, have been criticised by civil society organisations from around the world for allowing coal-based steel to be deceptively marketed as low- or zero-emissions. [2] 

“Vestas is a global leader in renewable energy and its decision to purchase green steel could help spur the decarbonisation of the steel industry. Of course to do this, it needs to purchase credible low-emissions steel products. Vestas already offers its European customers wind turbines made with low-emissions steel using 100% scrap in an electric arc furnace (EAF) powered by 100% wind energy by ArcelorMittal. [3]

Vestas should drive the real green transition by purchasing low emissions steel, and not lending its credibility to products based on deceptive accounting schemes. There is nothing green about steel made from coal, which is exactly what Nippon Steel’s NSCarbolex is today,” [4] said Roger Smith, SteelWatch’s Asia Lead.

ENDS

Contacts

Roger Smith, SteelWatch Asia Lead
[email protected]

Shiori Matsumoto, SteelWatch Asia Communications and Research Officer
[email protected]
(+34 613 869508)

Notes

1. Nippon Steel, Nippon Steel signed a memorandum of understanding with Vestas for the smooth execution of domestic wind power projects and the strengthening of the supply chain in domestic and international wind power markets. (in Japanese) July 30, 2025. 
   Another memorandum was signed between Vestas and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on the cooperation framework, including the Japanese companies’ access to the global wind turbine supply chain. 
2. SteelWatch, Civil society organisations urge rejection of deceptive accounting schemes in steel standards. June 5, 2025. 
3. Arcelor Mittal, Vestas introduces ArcelorMittal’s low carbon-emissions steel offering for wind turbines, January 16, 2024. 
4. The partnership focuses on supplying steel from Nippon Steel’s East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area and Kyushu Works Oita Area. The Kimitsu Area operates two blast furnaces (No. 2 BF, 4.1 Mtpa; No. 4 BF, 5.1 Mtpa), while the Oita Area also has two blast furnaces (No. 1 BF, 5.3 Mtpa; No. 2 BF, 5.3 Mtpa). (Blast furnace capacity data is sourced from the Global Energy Monitor, April 2024)

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