Various hurdles stand in the way of India’s steel industry decarbonisation, which mean carbon neutrality is likely only between 2050 and 2070, said participants at this week’s International DRI Summit 2024 in New Delhi attended by Kallanish. The continued dependence on blast furnace steel production presents a challenge to this process.

India’s steelmaking capacity expansion will lift high-grade iron ore demand, but the investment cost and water consumption required to beneficiate India’s low-grade ore capacity will pose challenges to meeting demand. The government’s aim to expand washing facilities by 2030 will also hit hurdles, maintaining India’s coking coal import dependence.

India, a major direct reduced iron producer with output of around 50 million tonnes/year, mostly relies on coal-based plants. To decarbonise, it plans to transition to hydrogen- or natural gas-based DRI facilities. However, this will be challenged by limited hydrogen and natural gas availability.

India depends heavily on natural gas imports, and the high costs of hydrogen production technology and infrastructure remain significant obstacles, expected to endure for another 10-15 years, according to experts.

“India has a long way to achieve its carbon neutral goal and maybe we will be able to achieve it by 2050 or maybe 2070. Until then we should focus on usage of green iron ore, CCUS technology and usage of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions during steel production,” said Indian steel ministry joint secretary Ruchika Govil.

As India aims for a 300m t/y steel capacity by 2030, with blast furnaces contributing 56%, demand for high-grade iron ore will surpass 100m t/y. However, the country is already grappling with a shortage of high-grade iron ore of at least 62% Fe, while low-grade reserves of 55-57% Fe are abundant. This underscores the need for increased beneficiation facilities; however, investment cost and water requirement will pose hurdles.

Iron ore tailings with 45-55% Fe content are often discarded, leading to mineral loss. These minerals could be recovered and converted into sinter/pellet using advanced beneficiation techniques such as gravity or magnetic separation, and flotation processes, conference delegates noted.

With PCI not domestically available, biochar could be used as a viable alternative. However, significant efforts are required for its widespread adoption.

“Imports of [PCI] from Russia and Australia add to the cost burden for Indian steel manufacturers. We can thus look to partially replace PCI coal with biochar which can be manufactured inhouse,” said Tata Steel raw material procurement group chief Amita Khurana.

As a developing nation, India meanwhile faces a significant shortage of ferrous scrap due to inadequate collection and processing infrastructure. Despite government initiatives, like the Vehicle Scrappage Policy, aimed at boosting domestic scrap generation, challenges persist. These include low technological capabilities, compliance issues, infrastructure gaps, and the entire sector being unorganised. Consequently, India must rely on costlier scrap imports, thereby hindering scrap-based steelmaking expansion.