{What Is Green Steel}India’s shift to “Green Steel” may depend on the development of a clean steel industry in the east of the nation. In order to transition to “Green Steel,” the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry established the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project in Eastern India in 2019. This project will supply gas to all of the nearby steel factories.
Key points
- The phrase “Green Steel” describes a method of producing steel that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, decreases prices, and raises steel quality. This may be accomplished by using gas instead of coal, recycling steel, etc.
- Making steel without using fossil fuels is known as “green steel.” This may be accomplished by switching from the conventional carbon-intensive manufacturing process of coal-fired plants to low-carbon energy sources like electricity, hydrogen, or coal gasification.
- In the end, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, decreases expenses, and raises steel quality.
- The carbon footprint of the steel sector may be decreased with the use of low-carbon hydrogen (blue hydrogen and green hydrogen).
- The National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHM) makes use of hydrogen as a greener alternative to traditional fuel sources.
Types of Hydrogen
| Green hydrogen | Green hydrogen has a smaller carbon footprint and is created by electrolyzing water with renewable energy sources (such as solar and wind). |
| Brown hydrogen | When producing brown hydrogen from coal, emissions are emitted into the atmosphere. |
| Grey hydrogen | made from natural gas, and the resulting emissions are discharged into the atmosphere. |
| Blue hydrogen | When producing blue hydrogen from natural gas, carbon capture and storage are used to reduce emissions. |
Ways of Production
- carbon sequestration, use, and storage (CCUS).
- using low-carbon hydrogen in place of traditional energy sources.
- iron ore electrolysis for direct electrification.
Importance
- The greatest industrial sector in terms of intense energy and resource usage is the steel industry. It is one of the greatest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters.
- The Indian steel sector must significantly cut its emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 in order to meet promises set at the Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate change conference.
The iron and steel industry in the nation is now struggling financially. However, the production of green steel is a costly process with substantial costs.
Steel Production Status In India
- With 120 million tonnes of crude steel produced for the financial year 2021–2022, India is now the second-largest producer of crude steel worldwide.
- The states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and the northern parts of Andhra Pradesh have more than 80% of the nation’s reserves.
- Northeastern states, union territories, and significant landlocked states.
- Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Durgapur (West Bengal), Burnpur (West Bengal), Jamshedpur, Rourkela (Odisha), and Bokaro are the domestic steel production hubs in India ( Jharkhand).
- According to the World Steel Association, India would consume 10623 million tonnes of finished steel in 2021, just behind China, which will consume the most.
