The
minister said that environmental concerns could arise in future and the
government and the private sector will have to work together to prepare for
that "eventuality today".New Delhi: Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday urged the
domestic steel industry to adopt low-carbon emitting steel-making processes,
while cautioning that key raw material coking coal and
iron ore may not be a viable option in the future based on an ESG parameter.
The comments have come at a time when India moves
to double its steel-making capacity to 300 million tonnes (MT).
"From the second largest producer of steel, we must also become
responsible producers of steel in the world. There will come a time in the near
distant future when today's raw materials be it iron ore or coking coal will no
longer be a viable option not necessarily from a cost structure parameter but
from an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) parameter," Scindia said at an event here.
The minister said that environmental concerns could arise in future and the
government and the private sector will have to work together to prepare for
that "eventuality today".
"The
industry can look for options like the use of renewable energy that can cut CO2
emissions, pelletization. In India, every 1 per cent increase in Fe (iron)
content results in 1 per cent lower consumption of coke in the process, and the
less coke you consume, the lesser CO2 emissions occur," the minister said.
Options of using plastic, not as raw material but in the process of the value
chain and use of scrap in steel making can be looked at.
India uses 20 per cent of scrap in steel production, he said adding that 26 MT
of scrap is generated domestically and 4 MT is imported.
The government has been pushing for the usage of renewable energy sources
besides other low-carbon generating technologies in the steel sector in various
processes of manufacturing.
The steel minister was speaking at the launch of Kalyani Group's first green steel brand 'Kalyani FeRRESTA'.
On the green steel brand, Kalyani Steels Managing Director R. K.
Goyal, the product is the "country's first green steel product which has
been produced through usage of green energy." It is a long steel product
to be used by industries such as defence aerospace etc, he said.