Nippon Steel Corp. is calling on the government to provide at least ¥2 trillion ($17.3 billion) in subsidies over almost three decades to meet "net-zero" targets, as it seeks to stay competitive against China and other global rivals.
The Japanese steel giant needs such funding so it can vie on an "equal footing,” according to Hideo Suzuki, the managing executive officer overseeing the firm's net-zero initiative. The company expects it will cost as much as ¥5 trillion to build facilities enabling decarbonization by 2050.
Suzuki said without the financial leg up, Chinese rivals — which already churn out more than half of the world’s steel — will be a greater threat to Japanese producers, as they will be able to take advantage of massive funding from their own centralized government.