Green Pathways for the Steel Industry

The Indian steel industry received a major green boost.

The Ministry of Steel has released a roadmap and action plan to boost India’s green steel sector.

Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries, Mr H. D. Kumaraswamy, presented a report titled “Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan” at the “Greening Steel: Pathway to Sustainability” event.

Ms. Neha Verma, Director, Ministry of Steel, released the report.

The report, based on recommendations from 14 task forces outlines a comprehensive plan for decarbonizing India’s steel industry. It also addresses several aspects of carbon emissions.

Key levers:

The Ministry is committed to implementing strategies and action plans outlined in the report to reduce carbon emissions. This is in line with India’s NDC commitments. The key levers of decarbonization include:

Technological innovations: Latest advancements in technology and practices that can aid in reducing emissions.

Policy frameworks: Exploring existing policies and discussion on potential policy enhancements to support decarbonization.

Future outlook: Vision for a sustainable steel industry and the role of various stakeholders in achieving these goals.

Roadmap and action plan: Strategies and interventions required from the Government as well as industry players.

The discussion board:

Former steel secretary Mr Sanjay Singh chaired a technical session on “Leadership and Innovation: Driving the Green Steel Transition.” He emphasized the importance of inventiveness and visionary leadership in sustainable steel production.

The panel comprised Dr. Anshu Bharadwaj, Project Director, Niti Aayog, Mr Abhay Bakre, Mission Director, NGHM, Mr Arvind K. Singh, Director, Technical, SAIL, Dr. Saurabh Kundu, CSO, Tata Steel, Mr Prabodha Acharya, CSO, JSW, and Mr Vaibhav Pokharna, Senior Lead, Sustainability, AM/NS India. Dhruba Purkayastha, Director, CEEW moderated the session.

Decarbonizing the steel industry:

In his introductory address, Mr Vinod K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Steel, talked about the difficulties in lowering carbon emissions.

He stressed the need to initiate decarbonization, highlighting the ongoing development of technology. He also emphasized the necessity of increasing demand for green steel in order to persuade steel manufacturers to switch to sustainable production methods.

Earlier in the day, Mr Kumaraswamy presented awards to task force chairpersons in recognition of their efforts.

He highlighted the necessity of increasing demand for green steel. He spoke about the need to persuade steel manufacturers to switch to sustainable production methods. He urged the industry to adopt multifaceted strategy of cleaner energy options, process optimization, circular economy and collaborative innovation for achieving climate goals.

Among the dignitaries were Mr Amrendu Prakash, Chairman, SAIL, and Mr N. N. Sinha, former Secretary, Steel. Both offered insightful commentary on the green transformation of the Indian steel industry.

India’s top companies are lagging in achieving their renewable energy and decarbonization targets.

These include cement, steel, aluminium, textiles, and fertilizers, says a Climate analyst firm Climate Risk Horizons (CRH) report.

According to the analysis, Indian corporates are slow to transition to renewable energy. Only 5% of their annual electricity consumption comes from renewable sources.

CRH’s report, Slow to Switch, evaluates 33 companies across seven industries, including five large energy consumers, using publicly available data from their annual and sustainability reports.

Sectoral analysis:

The analysis finds that most corporates are not on track to achieve their decarbonization goals. While the information technology industry emerges as the overall top performer, the fertilizer sector lags behind with the poorest score.

• Steel companies such as JSW, Jindal, Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal/Nippon Steel are currently meeting a tiny fraction (less than 0.05% on average) of their energy from renewable sources.

• Textile companies such as Trident, Welspun, Arvind and Shahi have set targets in line with the Paris Agreement. But, on average, less than 3% of their energy consumption comes from renewable electricity.

• Cement companies like Ultratech, ACC and Ambuja have set targets to reduce emissions as per the Paris Agreement, yet the share of renewable energy in their overall energy consumption was only 2.5%.

• In the FMCG sector, Godrej, ITC and Britannia stand out for their low RE utilization, in contrast to Nestle and Hindustan Unilever, which fare the best in terms of translating renewable energy commitments into actions.

• The report highlights the significant potential of the heavy industry sector to drive decarbonisation in the Indian electricity system. The companies analyzed have an annual electricity consumption of over 169 BU (Billion Units), which is more than double the electricity consumption of Andhra Pradesh or West Bengal.

Authors note:

“Shifting to renewable energy is essential for energy security at the company level and for the Indian economy as a whole. While a few large companies have started to take steps in this direction, a lot more needs to be done, and a lot quicker, if India is to meet its decarbonization targets,” said Vishnu Teja, Energy Researcher and Lead Author of the report.

“India Inc needs to step up and start investing for an energy secure future. The country’s RE and decarbonization targets will not be met without active support from large corporate players. With green energy open access regulations now in place, companies should be signing Power Purchase Agreements to ensure that 100% of their electricity comes from renewable energy by 2030,” said Ashish Fernandes, CEO, CRH and co-Author of the report.

ArcelorMittal has selected three start-ups as the joint winners of its inaugural XCarb India Accelerator Program.

The three winners are UrjanovaC, AgroMorph Technosolutions and Susstains Engineering Solutions. Each company will receive $50,000 as prize money and will be mentored to develop technologies and business models.

The winners:

UrjanovaC :
The enterprise is developing a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology to support the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors including steel. The technology uses a patented catalyst and wastewater to convert industrial CO2 emissions from flue gas into useful by-products like PCC and soda ash. These applications are applicable in various industries.

Prof. Vikram Vishal, Director & Co-Founder, UrjanovaC, said, “Our sustainable, practical, low-cost, and scalable decarbonization technology based on a patented catalytic process captures CO2 from air as well as emission gases and stores it permanently as carbonate salts. The team at UrjanovaC envisions translating net-zero pledges into reality through rapid deployment and is thrilled about the upcoming partnerships across borders and sectors.”

AgroMorph TechnoSolutions:
The company is creating a modular, algae-based CCUS system designed to remove carbon from industrial flue gases and absorb nutrients from wastewater. The process provides a sustainable method for carbon capture through natural photosynthesis, reducing the use of chemicals and providing a diverse range of nutrient-rich algae-based products.

Dr. Akanksha Agarwal, Founding Director, AgroMorph Technosolutions, said, “The program offered a great opportunity for AgroMorph as it helped us explore decarbonization challenges via algae. It provided in-depth understanding and perspectives of the steel industry, which is a great value-add for start-ups.”

Susstains Engineering Solutions:
The start-up founded by IIT Madras PhD students, is developing biochar technology for the steel industry. The technology utilizes biomass carbonization methods to enhance the yield, productivity, and quality of biochar produced.

Dr. Muthu Kumar, Founder, Susstains Engineering Solutions, added, “The program was a great opportunity, as it helped us understand the potential use of biochar in the steel industry. The AM/NS India facility’s testing of biochar samples provided confidence that with fine-tuning, our biochar could potentially replace coal.”

Partners:

GDC-IIT Madras, and SINE-IIT Bombay partnered with ArcelorMittal for the program.

Irina Gorbounova, Head, XCarb Innovation Fund, said, “The last 11 months provided us great insight into the start-up landscape of India and the opportunities it presents. It was a pleasure collaborating with IIT Madras and we look forward to continued engagement them.”

This blog is based on a Facebook post by a family friend who owns a building materials shop in Pathanapuram, Kerala. He recently found a discarded bird’s nest in his courtyard. Interestingly, this wasn’t made of twigs and coconut husks. But it was surprisingly built with scrap steel wires and components, in all likelihood picked up from his warehouse.

I have been writing about the soaring temperatures this summer in Kerala and the impact on people and their livelihoods. The bird’s nest post by my friend is an eye-opener.

Birds nest with wood and metal.

Kerala has been experiencing extreme heat for over a month, potentially causing birds to abandon their nests and flee due to the scorching temperatures. My friend separated the wooden materials and weighed the metal alone, which weighed 2.4 kilograms.

This is a stark reminder of how climate change is affecting all living beings. Just like humans, animals and birds are struggling. Birds’ habitats are changing from cozy hay and twigs to metal, and the increase in inside temperature may be the reason for this abandonment.

This was not an isolated incident. Several other friends from Kerala have narrated similar incidents during conversations.

The tale of this bird nest is heartbreaking and clever at the same time. It draws attention to how resourceful birds can be while simultaneously highlighting how urgent it is to combat climate change.

My friend tried adding humor to the post and said, “Maybe we need to hold a workshop for the birds by construction experts to teach them about eco-friendly nesting materials!”

But, on a serious note, this is a call to action for all of us. We can’t ignore this cry for help from nature. Here are some ways we can all take action:

Construction sector: The environment is greatly impacted by the construction sector. Green building techniques that reduce temperature rise must be promoted. This includes incorporating natural landscapes into building projects, encouraging energy efficiency, and employing sustainable materials.

Plant trees everywhere you go because they absorb carbon dioxide, cool the air, and provide shade. Plant trees in your backyard, support reforestation-focused organizations, and support community tree-planting campaigns.

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Our everyday choices contribute to climate change. Consider ways to reduce your carbon footprint, like using public transportation, switching to renewable energy sources, and consuming less energy at home.

Spread awareness: Share this story and educate others about the impact of climate change. Encourage others to take action to build a cooler planet.

Let’s not wait for birds to construct steel nests. We must cooperate to build a more sustainable future for all living things, including ourselves.

We must move past planning and take decisive action now. If not, get ready to be burned every summer!

The Bird’s Nest can be a beautiful bedtime story we can narrate to our children/grandchildren or impart as a lesson to the kindergarten/Anganwadi. This can become a collective initiative and an integral part of everyday routine for the future generations who are looking up to us. The responsibility is on our shoulders: Do we want to make sustainable raw materials and a healthy climate a science lesson for them at school? Or a reality and a green planet for them to lead a stress-free, healthy life.

Tag: AM/NS India

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Green Pathways for the Steel Industry
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Key levers:

The discussion board:

Decarbonizing the steel industry: