Yamaha Motor First in Japan to Adopt Low-Carbon Recycled Steel for Motorcycle Packaging Frames

Expanding the scope of use for steel sheets produced by electric furnaces to progress toward our goal of carbon neutrality with raw materials

IWATA, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7272) announces that it will begin using low-carbon, recycled steel sheets produced in electric furnaces as a raw material for the packaging frames used to ship motorcycles, and will be gradually expanding the scope of use of the material going forward. This is the first time in Japan that steel sheets from electric furnaces have been used for packaging frames for motorcycles (according to Yamaha Motor research as of July 2024).

These steel sheets are recycled materials produced by melting scrap iron in an electric furnace and then rolling them into sheets. Compared to conventional materials made from iron ore and coke that are smelted in a blast furnace, these materials produce significantly less CO₂ during their production. Starting in October 2024, Yamaha Motor will begin to use these recycled steel sheets from Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Tokyo Steel) for its packaging frames for motorcycle shipments, with plans to gradually expand the scope of their use in stages going forward, thereby increasing the ratio of recycled materials used in its packaging frames.

The steel is made primarily from scrap iron acquired from demolished buildings, discarded home appliances, scraped automobiles, and the like, and its material characteristics, quality, and suitability for use in packaging frames has been trialed and proven through a collaborative effort between Tokyo Steel and Yamaha Motor.

Yamaha Motor, in line with its Yamaha Motor Group Environmental Plan 2050, is working toward being carbon neutral* throughout all of its supply chains, including the company’s business activities by 2050. As the Company works toward achieving this goal and eventually switching to 100% sustainable materials, Yamaha Motor is pushing to adopt and further expand its use of green and recycled materials.

*Emissions as a direct result of business activities (Scope 1 and 2) and emissions outside of these (Scope 3)