Steel mills in India, along with its global peers and consultants, are striving for a major technological breakthrough to produce green steel
Steelmakers in India and throughout the world are facing a 30% increase in manufacturing costs to fulfill their net-zero ambitions, according to experts. There is no single specific technique for creating 'Green Steel' at the moment, and what is available is based on diverse production process lines with different timescales, according to steel experts at the Singapore Green Steel Forum held recently
According to analysts, India's steel mills, together with their global peer groups and consultants, are looking for a major technological breakthrough to make green steel.
“Present estimates put production of 'Green Steel' 30 per cent higher compared with conventional steel that is being produced currently,” said a consultancy group official anonymously.
“The debate is using electric arc furnaces based on green energy, which would be costly, and Blast Furnace (BF), which uses comparatively cheaper coal,” the official said.
“BF also offers large volume output compared to EAF,” he added.
Nevertheless, it is healthy to note industry-wide talks and collaboration initiatives are on to seek solutions for making 'Green Steel', said another official.
“We are glad that both India and China, as large markets and producers of steel as well as industrial products, are focused on green products and have set net-zero targets,” the official said.
However, the officials stated that lowering emissions and attaining net-zero targets are significant obstacles, despite the global recognition of the importance of managing environmental issues.They have emphasised the importance of "collaboration and cooperation among global industries, academics, and technologists in order to build and scale up technologies for a better tomorrow." Scrap is limited and difficult to come by in some areas where recycling laws are lax. Though India and China have been encouraging recycling practises through regulations and programmes, the grade of scrap would be low, officials added, because some steel goods to be destroyed are decades old.The forum drew almost 1,000 delegates.