Initiative towards decarbonising steel industry

The government has taken several steps to decarbonise the steel industry.

• Fourteen task forces comprising representatives from industry, academia, think tanks, S&T bodies, various ministries, and other stakeholders were established to consider and suggest various approaches for the decarbonisation of the steel industry.

• To decrease the amount of coal used in the production of steel, the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy of 2019 increases the availability of scrap produced domestically.

• The National Green Hydrogen Mission was declared by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to promote the production and use of green hydrogen. The mission has included the steel industry as a stakeholder.

• The goal of the September 2021 Motor Vehicles (Registration and Functions of Vehicle Scrapping Facility) Rules is to expand the amount of scrap available to the steel industry.

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) established the National Solar Mission in January 2010 to encourage the use of solar energy and lessen emissions from the steel sector.

• The National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency’s Perform, Achieve, and Trade (PAT) programme encourages the steel sector to cut energy use.

• The steel industry has included the Best Available Technologies (BAT) for modernization and expansion projects that are accessible worldwide.

• Steel factories have been using the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) of Japan Model Projects for Energy Efficiency Improvement.

India is not alone in being concerned about the global development of a taxonomy for green steel. To discuss, consider, and make recommendations on this, the Ministry of Steel established a Task Force on the Development of Taxonomy for Green Steel, which includes representatives from industry, academia, think tanks, S&T bodies, other ministries and departments, and other stakeholders.

The State Minister for Steel, Sh. Faggan Singh Kulaste, provided this information in a written response to a Lok Sabha question.

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