Yamaha Announces the Use of New “Low Carbon” Steel

A new type of recycled steel has been brought into use by Yamaha in the packaging of its motorcycles.

Brought in as part of Yamaha’s initiative to be carbon neutral in its global supply chain by 2050, the new recycled steel is described by the Iwata marque as “low carbon”, also thanks to its production in electric furnaces, which melt scrap iron — retrieved from, for example, demolished buildings, discarded home appliances, and scrapped cars — to then be rolled into sheets.

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It also marks a milestone for Yamaha, as it becomes the first Japanese company to use steel sheets produced in an electric furnace in the packaging frames for motorcycles.

“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,” Yamaha says.

With supply coming from Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Yamaha expects to begin using the new sheets in October 2024, and is looking to “expand the scope of their use in stages going forward,” the Japanese manufacturer says.

Yamaha’s adoption of this recycled steel is another example of how motorcycle manufacturers explore alternative production methods and materials in order to reduce their environmental impact, rather than focusing solely on the more obvious environmental steps such as producing electric vehicles, for example. Suzuki, in addition, used recycled carbon fibre in the bodywork of its Experimental Class GSX-R1000 at the Suzuka 8 Hours, which ran on 40 per cent non-fossil fuel.