GREEN STEEL - ECONOMY

News: Emissions dip, Govt may make ‘green steel’ mandatory: Jyotiraditya Scindia

 

What's in the news?

       Union Minister of Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday told Rajya Sabha that the government was considering mandating the use of “green steel” in government projects.

       He said emissions from the steel industry have been brought down by 15% between 2005 and 2022 and Centre targets an additional 10% reduction in emissions by 2030.

       He also added that energy consumption per tonne of steel produced has also come down as well as emission intensity in terms of CO2.

 

Green Steel:

       It is steel which is manufactured without the use of fossil fuels.

       This can be done by using low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, coal gasification, or electricity.

 

Transitions in the Indian steel sector:

       More than 80% of the country’s reserves are in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and the northern regions of Andhra Pradesh.

       Western states Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka have made good use of the available non-conventional sources of energy in the region.

 

Decarbonizing Iron and Steel sector:

In order to decarbonize the iron and steel sector, the primary emphasis through technological interventions would be on substituting the primary production processes with cleaner alternatives. Such as

       Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

       Replacing conventional sources of energy with low-carbon hydrogen.

       Direct electrification through electrolysis of iron ore.

 

Steps taken to make Green Steel economical:

  1. Increasing energy efficiency through the adoption of technologies that are cost-effective.
  2. Refurbishing old steel plants.
  3. Funding for energy efficiency measures for electricity-based manufacturing.
  4. Constructing a suitable infrastructure for recycling steel and utilizing steel scrap.
  5. Generating green standards and similar types of labels for the market growth of green steel.
  6. Amending the Perform Achieve Trade scheme to estimate and check the carbon emissions instead of energy consumed.