In a bid to lower the emission levels from the steel industry a high-level meeting was convened in Shimala. The parliamentary consultative committee was chaired by the union minister for steel Ramchandra Prasad Singh. The participants deliberated on various aspects of emissions from the production of steel and  impediments to achieving the target of ‘Green steel.’

The Chairman in his address asked the steel industry to come together in the development of a time-bound action plan to lower emissions. He implored the stakeholders to make concerted efforts for lowering the emissions from the steel industry. India is committed to lowering carbon emissions in COP26. The chairman also stressed the need to promote “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.

The topic of the meeting “Transition towards Green Steel” was thoroughly discussed and suggestions from various participants were noted.  The senior officials from the Ministry of Steel and senior officials & experts from the steel industry came up with valuable suggestions for the transition towards Green Steel.

Various strategies & technologies that can be adopted by the steel industry to produce green steel, their pros & cons and their Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), and when these are like to be available commercially were also discussed.

The focus of the discussion was on the prospects of the use of Green Hydrogen for use in producing iron and also the use of CCUS technologies for lowering the emissions in line with the commitments made in COP26. Government interventions required to address the issues & constrain and the way forward for producing Green Steel were also discussed.

The iron and steel sector is especially challenging about reduction in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, as the use of fossil fuel-based energy and use of reduction process is deeply embedded in the production of steel.

The emissions from the Indian iron & steel industry is higher primarily due to higher usage of coal-based energy source and as ‘reductant.’

It is thus imperative for the Indian steel industry to reduce its emissions substantially and pressure to reduce them is growing by the day in view of the commitments made in the COP26.