Decarbonise Steel Industry with use of Green Hydrogen: Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Steel & Rural Development
Steel sector being a founding determinant of Indian economy and having a fundamental role to play in realizing the Atmanirbahr Bharat goals, the Government sought to decarbonise the steel industry by encouraging possible use of green hydrogen as a future fuel, while also aiming at enhanced use of renewable energy sources, application of resource-efficient materials, expansion of scrap usage, strengthening R&D and focusing largely on rural India, said Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Steel and Rural Development. The minister made these comments at the Steel Summit 2022 today organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in association with the Ministry of Steel in New Delhi, today.
Green Hydrogen is emerging as a key element and has the potential to solve multiple domestic issues today, from de-carbonising various industrial sectors to providing the energy security as critical support to the country’s economic growth.
The minister said that in the short term, the Government hopes for reduction of carbon emissions in the steel industry by facilitating energy efficiency, while in the medium and long term by 2047, green hydrogen utilisation and storage should remain in focus, along with disruptive alternative technological innovations to achieve all targets of the economy including that of the carbon transition mission.
Rural India holds great potential as a significant driver in enhancing the steel consumption in India for which, the industry need to build inroads. The minister urged the steel companies to invest in research and development activities which will help reducing imports and boost the domestic consumption of various grades of steel, including value-added steel. Stressing on the importance of the industry, the minister said, export duty removal will further boost domestic industry sentiments.
Shri Sanjay Kumar Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Steel shared Hon’ble Prime Minster’s 'Amrit Kaal' pledge where every Indian is aspiring to see the fast progress of a new India and the steel industry need to work in unison for a developed economy with all necessary standards and parameters in place by 2047. That will include increasing steel consumption three times the world average, to realising ‘Panchamrit- five Pledges for India at 100’ that emphasizes reduced carbon emission and encourages use of renewable energy resources, increasing per capita consumption, production of steel with exportable surplus, and building a circular economy.
Emphasising on the Green Steel Manufacturing, Secretary referred the Steel Ministry’s coking coal mission to diversify the sources of key steel making raw material, and said, industry must meet the short-, medium-, and long-term emission targets and become responsible through green hydrogen adoption. He urged the industry to collaborate in other significant areas for improvement, including the country’s preparedness for producing all kinds of speciality steel, utilising appropriately the 100 mn tons of low quality ore around the mines by converting to high quality, adoption of high level technology, and develop a common strategy for R& D collaboration. Government has constituted two advisory committees to iron out industry issues, one each for the ISPs and the secondary sector. Industry may utilise the forums for resolving their issues, such as expanding RODTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) scheme to the steel sector, Secretary said.
Speaking at the occasion, Smt Soma Mondol, Chairman, Steel Authority of India said, for the steel consumption to grow from the current level of 104 MN Ton to 425 MN Ton by 2047 and augment steel capacity, the sector must remain competitive, sustain the high extractive pressure on environment and remain active on Net-Zero emissions target. She reiterated the smart carbon vision to increase efficient carbon use, availing commercially viable, advanced steel making technology in affordable price, including carbon capturing storage technology, and boosting scrap-based steel making that can double the capacity from current 35 MNT in 2030.
Highlighting key industry concerns, Shri Seshagiri Rao MVS, Chairman, CII National Committee on Steel and Joint Managing Director & Group CFO, JSW Steel Ltd Steel Ltd said, with the elevated raw material cost and falling steel price, companies show a declining margin. He also highlighted India’s journey towards green steel and to become an export hub. However, the exports have fallen by 8 MNT and the country needs to look for new markets to sell incremental steel. Going ahead, he stressed on high quality and speciality steel belt, with increased capacity and emphasis on process and product innovation in the sector.
Highlighting key industry concerns, Shri R K Goyal, Co-Chair, CII National Committee on Steel and Managing Director, Kalyani Steels Ltd said, with the country aiming to achieve $5 Trillion by 2024, steel industry will be playing a major role in driving this mission. With changing dynamics of global trade relations taking a toll on countries’ steel supply chains, and the government continuing to focus on boosting economic growth further, the domestic steel sector can be set to become the key weapon for driving the growth for India, with the Government focus on development of grid steel and integrated steel plant, decarbonisation, using scrap as a raw material, improvement of logistics and R&D support.
22 December 2022
New Delhi