Challenge to adopt ultra-high-tensile steel for suspension parts - Toward the realization of a carbon-free society

YOROZU CORPORATION

Outline

We aim to be a company that can contribute to the creation of a prosperous society by increasing corporate value based on our management stance of "trusted management as our creed" with social contribution as our top priority. In addition, we have positioned global environmental issues as an important issue and are promoting activities to address them.

First of all, we are trying to minimize energy consumption by promoting energy-saving activities with maximum efficiency and minimum cost, and aiming to reduce CO₂ emissions by introducing solar power generation systems. In the future, we will continue to study the de-carbonization of purchased electricity and introduce innovative technologies such as hydrogen in the combustion system to achieve de-carbonization by 2040.

Description

Yorozu has positioned global environmental issues as an important issue in its corporate activities, and has been promoting its activities based on ISO 14001. We are working to reduce the environmental impact of our products in all areas of their life cycles. The largest environmental impact is in terms of GHG emissions at the stage of use, so reducing the weight of products is the most important issue, and we are aiming to reduce the weight by even 1g. Currently, we are developing 980 mega-pascal material, which is much stronger than the conventional high-tensile material, for mass production. 980 mega-pascal material has higher strength than the conventional material, which enables further weight reduction, but the processing is technically difficult. Utilizing the development and technological capabilities we have cultivated over the years, we are working to overcome the challenges of this difficult material and are developing it on a daily basis with the goal of reducing weight by 30% and achieving mass production. In the production process, in response to the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, we have conducted our own research on the trends of government policies and industrial organizations, and have set a long-term goal of an 18% reduction (compared to the fiscal 2012 level) in basic unit by fiscal 2030, which is consistent with the Paris Agreement.

Furthermore, in response to the "Green Growth Strategy for Carbon Neutrality in 2050" announced in 2020, we have decided to formulate a de-carbonization plan and aim for a net zero reduction in total volume as well as in basic unit management. A: Reducing CO₂ emissions through continuous energy-saving activities, B: Promoting the introduction of renewable energy, C: Changing purchased electricity to zero-CO₂ electricity, D: Introducing innovative technologies such as hydrogen (energy conversion during production), and A~D are the four major categories of measures for CO₂ emission reduction scenarios.

In terms of energy conservation activities, we are continuously working to improve productivity that contributes to CO₂ reduction by shortening takt time, minimizing downtime, and eliminating waste and inconsistency. In order to promote activities at our production sites, including our overseas sites, we collaborate with the head office departments, and the results are periodically reported to the management committee for horizontal deployment. With regard to the introduction of renewable energy, not only have we installed renewable energy at the YOROZU Global Technical Center building, we are considering to also introduce renewable energy throughout the entire global company. In 2020, we installed 500 kW panels at Y-OAT (Y-Ogura Automotive Thailand Co., Ltd.), our second site in Thailand, to provide approximately 35% of the electricity used. Plans are currently underway to install panels in Mexico. In the future, we will continue to promote the installation of these panels as soon as it is deemed feasible. Based on future trends, we will consider the introduction of zero CO₂ emissions for purchased electricity and innovative technologies.

Aiming to be a centenarian company, loved by all stakeholders, Yorozu One Team will continue to promote de-carbonization.