With Kalyani Steels Ltd becoming the first Green Steel producer of India, all major Indian steel manufacturers are now beginning to transition towards Green Steel but want cheap supplies of Green Power and Green Hydrogen to make the transition financially viable.
This was brought out at the Conclave on “Transitioning Towards Green Steel” organized by the Minerals & Metals Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 4 February 2023.
The Chief Guest of the Conclave, Ms Neha Verma, IFoS, Director, Ministry of Steel, in her address stressed that considering the rate of growth of Indian economy, demand & production of steel will increase in India but so will emissions.
Indian Steel production capacity is likely to increase to 300 million ton per year from existing capacity of 155 million ton per year by 2030 and to around 500 million TPY by 2047. Hence the Government of India is now emphasizing on Green growth, which has also been the highlight of the recently presented Budget.
Verma enumerated 5 ways for decarbonizing the steel sector viz Energy Efficiency, use of RE, Input Material efficiency, Use of Green Hydrogen and Carbon Capture & Storage. She appealed to the Industry to invest more in R & D and use innovative technologies rather than only relying on capital intensive technologies like Green Hydrogen, which may take years to become feasible.
Mr Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chair, Minerals & Metals Committee, PHDCCI in his Theme informed that Indian steel manufacturers are committed to producing low carbon steel and in future that will be essential for exporting to European countries or getting funding from FIs.
The Guest of Honor, Mr Tobias Winter, Director, Indo-German Energy Forum, in his address described the global developments in decarbonisation of Steel Sector, especially in Europe and felt that with availability of cheap solar and wind power, India is in a very good position to produce low carbon steel. He also informed about a few success stories of green steel production in Europe.
Mr V R Sharma, Vice Chairman, JSP Group Advisor Services, in his address suggested that if steel manufacturers could get supply of Green Energy or Green Hydrogen near their plants, India can easily transit towards Green Steel. He informed that carbon capture and other technologies are available but the issue is about their high cost.
Mr R K Goyal, MD, Kalyani Steels, explained the success story of his company as India’s first Green Steel producer. He advised steel manufacturers to analyse the emission generation at each stage of the steel manufacturing process and try to reduce it. He informed that 55% of the total steel produced in India was through Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)/Induction Furnace route, which can be easily decarbonised by using Green Energy (since India is blessed with Solar & Wind Power) or Green Hydrogen.
The Conclave was supported by the Ministry of Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and ACME Group.
