ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with JFE Steel Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku Tokyo; Yoshihisa Kitano, President & CEO; hereinafter "JFE Steel"), Emirates Steel Arkan (headquartered in Abu Dabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE); HE Eng. Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, Group CEO; hereinafter "Emirate Steel"), the largest steel company in UAE, and Abu Dhabi Ports Group (headquartered in Abu Dabi, UAE; Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Group CEO; hereinafter "ADPG") to establish a collaborative framework to create a supply chain of the Ferrous Raw Material for Green Ironmaking with Low Carbon Emissions, hereinafter “Green Ferrous Material”.

With a global trend toward carbon neutrality, achieving decarbonization in the steel industry is an urgent issue, and ITOCHU, Emirates Steel and JFE Steel are participating as core members in the establishment of a supply chain of the Green Ferrous Material. The companies are jointly promoting a detailed feasibility study at the planned project site in Abu Dhabi (hereinafter "the Project").
Decarbonization of the Steel Industry: Supply Chain of Ferrous Raw Material for Green Ironmaking with Low Carbon Emission | Press Releases | ITOCHU Corporation

ADPG, the state-owned port operator and economic and industrial zones developer in Abu Dhabi in which the Project is planned to be developed, owns 10 ports and 550㎢ of economic and industrial areas. ADPG, like Emirates Steel, is a subsidiary of ADQ (a holding company of the Abu Dhabi government), a state-owned investment company in Abu Dhabi. It is also entrusted with raw material import business for Emirates Steel's operations.

ITOCHU has agreed to establish a collaborative framework with ADPG for the development and operation of the port, land lease services and related infrastructure for the Project. Through collaboration with ADPG, ITOCHU aims to secure the project area and establish a stable logistics system for purchasing raw materials and shipping products.

One of the basic policies of ITOCHU's medium-term management plan - “Brand-new Deal 2023” - is “Enhancing Our Contribution to and Engagement with the SDGs.” We will contribute to the decarbonization of the steel industry and the achievement of the SDGs together with our partners by promoting the start-up of the supply chain of the Green Ferrous Material.