ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India aims for 20% carbon reduction by 2030
AM/NS India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world’s leading steel makers – in its first Climate Action Report has outlined immediate actions to accelerate and decarbonise India’s development as the country targets a $5 trillion economy and the third-largest global economy by 2026-27.
Targeting 20% emissions intensity reduction this decade
The following strategy charts AM/NS India’s immediate decarbonisation plan while fostering company growth:- Enhancing operational efficiency by increasing capacity utilisation, deploying energy recuperation wherever possible, scaling successful tests to inject gases that are cleaner than coal into production processes, incorporating new advanced digitalisation technologies to ensure maximum fuel and material efficiency through improved data analytics, and more.
- Ramping up renewables to ensure a 100% green grid by 2030. ArcelorMittal has invested US$0.7 billion into new solar and wind farms which will be integrated with pumped hydro storage facilities owned by Greenko to deliver round-the-clock electricity to AM/NS India’s Hazira plant. By end of 2024, it will meet over 20% of flagship Hazira plant’s electricity needs, cutting AM/NS India’s carbon emissions by 1.5 million tonnes each year.
- Increasing scrap use in steel making to expedite decarbonization, AM/NS India aims to raise scrap utilization from 3-5% to ~10% by 2030. The company has also set out plans to establish several steel scrap processing centres across the country to encourage a circular economy for steel in India.
Investing in breakthroughs for net-zero
AM/NS India also outlines strategic investments, pilots, and partnerships necessary to produce net-zero steel.- Green hydrogen: Green hydrogen presents the possibility of near-zero-emissions steel production. But given limited availability and competing demands, green hydrogen supply is restricted in India. To help change this, AM/NS India is:
- Pursuing pilot programmes to further explore utilisation of low-carbon gasses at production processes.
- Developing long-term strategic collaborations with the world’s leading energy companies to assess hydrogen deployment and secure low carbon gas supply.
- CCUS: Carbon capture is a key component for complete decarbonisation of the steel sector. To enable this breakthrough technology, AM/NS India is:
- Collaborating with IIT Bombay to research CCUS potential in India’s geological environment;
- Actively exploring partnerships in the Hazira industrial belt to collaborate with research institutions and industrial companies to create local clusters, enhancing efficiency, speed, and scale in CCUS deployment.
Policy to accelerate progress
Given the task's complexity and urgency, ambitious policy and regulations are crucial for creating the necessary conditions for progress. AM/NS India's Climate Action Report recommends policy interventions in key areas, including:- Improving demand signals with clear procurement standards
- Supporting infrastructure for low carbon economy
- Tax incentives to encourage and boost green manufacturing
- Increasing FDI with clear policy signals on low-carbon steel
- Increasing R&D in hydrogen and reduce cost of hydrogen
- Increasing availability of scrap
AM/NS India’s First Climate Action Report Charts its Decarbonisation Journey
- AM/NS India targets a reduction in emissions intensity by 20% by 2030 with roadmap of actions across the entire value chain of steel production:
- Bolstering renewable energy to meet 100% of grid electricity needs;
- Increasing the recycling of scrap steel over two-fold through new and enhanced sourcing and processing facilities;
- Driving operational efficiencies with new technology improvements.
- Report also sets out a series of strategic investments, pilots and partnerships to accelerate the uptake of breakthrough technologies necessary to produce net zero steel in India, such as green hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS).
- Report sets out recommendations for enabling policies that can unlock industry-wide progress including tax incentives, new norms for FDI, a green grid and more.
