A recent stakeholder meeting held by Minister of Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasized the importance of a comprehensive approach to deploying renewable energy to decarbonize the steel industry.

Along with the use of renewable energy, the meeting organized by the Steel Ministry discussed pathways for the industry’s decarbonization through skill development and incentives.

The meeting brought together five of the 13 task forces, all aimed at fostering the green steel ecosystem in India, uniting a consortium of stakeholders, industry experts, and government officials to realize the aim of decarbonization of the steel industry landscape.

The meeting discussed customized decarbonization solutions covering both integrated steel plants and secondary facilities. The meeting also discussed financing options for green steel production, the use of natural gas and syngas instead of coal-based feedstock directly reduced iron plants to cut carbon emissions, and the need to empower educational institutions to meet the industry’s evolving skill demands.

The meeting was held at a time when the Indian steel industry has been voicing concerns that steel exports to the European Union could become uncompetitive because of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

During the transitional phase of CBAM, which took effect on October 1, the tariff measure will apply only to imported products and commodities like iron and steel, cement, aluminum, fertilizers, electricity, and hydrogen.

The EU rules detail the reporting obligations for importers of CBAM goods and the methodology to calculate embedded emissions released during the manufacture of goods from the source countries.

The Indian government is considering the enforcement of green steel utilization in public projects as a vital step in reducing emissions and achieving carbon neutrality in the steel industry by 2070. The government has embarked on a string of initiatives to bring down carbon emissions in the steel industry and help it reach net zero by 2070. As a short-term measure, the government is already promoting the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the steel sector to minimize emissions by 2030.