Kobe Steel enters into the market of large-sized turbo compressors. The current production capacity of 200 thousand m3/h will be brought up to 400 thousand m3/h as unveiled by Chairman and president Hiroya Kawasaki in the press conference held on April 5 announcing the corporate mid-term business plan.

Large-sized turbo compressors are used for the production processes or CCS (carbon dioxide gas capture and storage) of fertilizer materials, propylene (PDH=propane dehydrogenation) or LNG. It is also widely accepted to compress crude air in ASU, accounting for nearly 20% of applications taken by ASU. At present there are no other manufacturer capable to make this compressor than MAN Turbo and Siemens. These two German manufacturers dominate the market. However, the chairman said, “A strong request (from the user’s side) for another manufacturer in Asia has motivated our decision to participate in the market.”

Kobe Steel has already succeeded to produce and verify a turbo compressor with built-in gear of 400 thousand m3/h class and is now constructing facilities for a trial operation to be completed in April 2017. Full-fledged sales activities will be made along with the start of trial operation. The turbo compressor of 400 thousand m3/h can be applied to an ASU having an O2 generating capacity of 80 thousand m3/h.

Apart from the matter of compressor, the chairman referred in the mid-term business plan to the new establishment of general H2 station test center as an H2-related business and the verification test of H2 station for reusable energy. In the verification test Kobe Steel will verify a CO2-free hydrogen by solar light + electrolysis taking advantage of Kobelco Eco-Solutions’ technologies. 　

Kobe Steel will keep on retaining its conventional policy to secure the overwhelming domestic share in the welding rods and wire business, the reinforcement of ASEAN and China business and proposals of automation to the shipbuilding and steel-structuring fields.