Almost 70% of the infrastructure that India needs to become developed by 2047, whether it’s roads, ports, airports or power plants, is yet to be built, leaving huge scope for the country to make its public works sustainable. With that in mind, steel and cement makers in the world’s fifth-largest economy are transitioning towards low-carbon manufacturing by reducing dependence on coal to fire their plants. They are investing in new energy-efficient technologies, switching to renewable energy and even using waterways and trucks powered by liquefied natural gas and electricity. Steel makers are increasing the use of scrap and piloting production of green hydrogen. Of course, there’s a flip side to the effort. Integrating sustainability means spending more money. According to a steel ministry assessment, conventional steel costs Rs 55,000 per metric tonne, while green steel with 10% blending costs Rs 60,500; 20% and 30% blended products cost Rs 66,000 and Rs 71,500 per MT, respectively. The effort is not limited to manufacturing plants. For instance, Carbon Bank, launched by Tata Steel last year, helps customers adopt low-carbon steel aligned with global standards. Jindal Stainless recently inaugurated India’s first green hydrogen plant in the stainless steel industry to cut annual carbon emissions by 2,700 tonnes. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is targeting about 70% output through green technology by 2027. Cement companies, too, are pumping large investments into renewable power and sustainable mobility. In December 2024, UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement maker, used inland waterways to transport gypsum. Consumption to Rise The change has come during an opportune period as the per capita steel and cement consumption is set to increase given the massive infrastructure needs of the country. The per capita consumption of cement in India is 257 kg, far less than the global average of 540 kg. And per capita consumption of steel is around 77 kg per year compared with the global average of 233 kg. “The Ministry of Steel is already working on a green steel public procurement policy. The question is to what extent this policy would support the mandated entities in absorbing the higher costs attached with green steel,” says Parth Kumar, industry programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment. “Mandated preference for low-carbon cement in government tenders could push the demand for low-carbon cement,” he says. Soon, public sector tenders may come with a clause for green steel procurement. STEEL: The companies are increasing use of scrap and piloting production of green hydrogen to reduce carbon footprint.Brownfield steel plants could cut emissions by up to 40% through hydrogen blending, integrating renewable energy sources and increasing use of scrap, say experts. Tata Steel is setting up its first electric arc furnace-based plant in Ludhiana, Punjab, to produce green steel. “At our existing blast furnace-based sites, we are leveraging innovation and technology to further decarbonisation. At Jamshedpur, we have pilots like coke oven gas injection, carbon capture and increased scrap use. We’re also increasing the share of renewable energy and utilising greener fuels like biochar and natural gas,” says Rajiv Mangal, Vice President of Safety, Health and Sustainability at Tata Steel. Biochar is charcoal made from organic waste. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, or JSPL, is seeking efficiency improvements and renewable energy integration with investments in solar and wind power generation and green hydrogen, logistics optimisation and ultra-low carbon steel production. “JSPL is aiming for a 50% reduction in coal usage. It is exploring low-carbon technologies along with sustainable logistics through the development of a mechanised Paradip port, deployment of LNG trucks, 80% rail-based steel dispatches, and adoption of electric vehicles for last-mile delivery, in-plant operations and raw material handling,” the company said. Companies are also looking at using green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy. The fuel can produce the intense heat required for production of cement and steel. Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Stainless, says the company plans to invest about Rs 700 crore in decarbonisation projects over the next four years. “To lower our carbon footprint, we are expanding our renewable capacity (including captive solar and external PPAs), exploring and expanding the switch to biofuels and piloting production of green hydrogen. In a significant milestone, we recently inaugurated India’s first green hydrogen plant in the stainless steel industry,” says Jindal. The company is working with the National Institute of Secondary Steel, an arm of the Ministry of Steel, for validation of carbon accounting to gain a green star rating. Getting such certification is also on the agenda of Vedanta Group’s ESL Steel as it prepares to start production of green steel. “Another avenue for steel makers to decarbonize their value chain is the adoption of low-carbon 'green' zinc”, says Arun Misra, CEO – Hindustan Zinc Ltd & ED – Vedanta Ltd. The company is providing sustainable solutions to customers with products such as EcoZen, Asia's first low-carbon 'green' zinc, which has a carbon footprint about 75% lower than the global average of conventionally made zinc. "Customers are increasingly becoming more discerning about the origin of the raw materials they use in their supply chain,” adds Mishra. Cement Makers Act India is the world’s second-largest producer of cement, contributing 8% of the world’s installed capacity and 7% of production. To decarbonise production, the industry is seeking to enhance energy efficiency through initiatives like waste heat recovery, optimising design to minimise concrete and cement waste, transitioning to ready-mix concrete production and adopting carbon capture technologies. CEMENT: The per capita consumption in India is 257 kg, far less than the global average of 540 kg.For instance, in FY24, blended cement accounted for 73.52% of production at Shree Cements, says M.M. Rathi, Joint President of Power Plants at the company. “A key goal is to reduce Net Specific Scope 1 emissions by 12.7% per tonne of cementitious material by 2030, using 2019 as the baseline year. It is being addressed through production efficiency, alternative fuels and integration of cleaner technologies,” he says. Net Specific Scope 1 emissions refer to a company’s direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned and controlled by it. Kaustubh Phadke, India head of the Global Cement Concrete Association, says over 70% of cement produced in India is blended, using industrial byproducts like fly ash and slag, significantly reducing emissions. “The sector is also leading in co-processing RDF (refuse-derived fuel) derived from municipal solid waste and non-recyclable plastic waste as alternative fuels,” says Phadke. @richajourno
