Committed to decarbonising the Indian steel sector: Govt

New Delhi: The Govt is committed to decarbonising the steel sector in India. The Ministry has identified various focus areas in this regard, the Ministry of Steel said in an official statement on Monday.

“In the short term (FY 2030), the focus will be on reducing carbon emissions in the steel industry through promoting energy and resource efficiency, greater use of renewable energy, etc. For the medium term (2030-2047), Green Hydrogen based steel making and Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage are the focus areas. For the long term (2047-2070), disruptive alternative technological innovations can help achieve the transition to net zero,” it added.

Steps taken by the government to promote decarbonisation in the steel industry include:-

13 Task Forces had been constituted with the engagement of industry, academia, think tanks, S&T bodies, different Ministries and other stakeholders to discuss, deliberate and recommend different levers of decarbonisation of the steel sector.

Steel Scrap Recycling Policy, 2019 enhances the availability of domestically generated scrap to reduce the consumption of coal in steel making.

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced the National Green Hydrogen Mission for green hydrogen production and usage. The steel sector has also been made a stakeholder in the Mission.

Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicles Scrapping Facility) Rules September 2021, envisages to increase availability of scrap in the steel sector.

National Solar Mission launched by MNRE in January 2010 promotes the use of solar energy and also helps reduce the emission of the steel industry.

Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, under National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, incentivizes the steel industry to reduce energy consumption.

The steel sector has adopted the Best Available Technologies (BAT) available globally, in the modernization & expansions projects.

Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) Model Projects for Energy Efficiency Improvement have been implemented in steel plants.

The Ministry of Steel is also continuously engaging in discussions with various stakeholders towards the decarbonisation of the steel sector.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Steel (MoS) Faggan Singh Kulaste in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Monday.

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