 "Nippon Steel")
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India plans to make 70 per cent of its steel production ‘green’ by financial year 2027 (FY27), aligning with India’s rollout of a green steel taxonomy.
The Indian government introduced the taxonomy for green steel last December, which is expected to be rolled out in FY27. The move is expected to advance decarbonisation of India’s steel industry and stimulate demand for greener steel both within India and abroad.
Green steel is classified based on the emissions intensity of the steel plant where it is produced. To qualify as green, the CO2 emissions intensity must be below 2.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per tonne of crude steel (tCO2/tcs). Steel with emissions intensity above this threshold will not receive a green rating, while steel produced below it will be rated on a three-tier system: three-star, four-star, or five-star green steel.
AM/NS India aims to reduce 20 per cent of carbon emission intensity by 2030, targeting 1.8 tCO2/tcs from the 2021 baseline.
With India’s new green steel taxonomy expected to be implemented in FY27, AM/NS is confident in its ability to lead the Indian green steel industry.
In FY23, the company achieved a CO2 intensity of 2.17 tCO2/tcs, which is 14 per cent lower than the national average. The company has successfully reduced its carbon emissions intensity by over 35 per cent since 2015, Ranjan Dhar, Director and Vice President, Sales & Marketing at AM/NS India, said.
Dhar explained, “We concluded that our current footprint and the developments we are pursuing provide a significant advantage as a company. This advantage includes our customers being able to make their products greener, positioning us to be the first three-star rated green steel company in the country.”
To achieve its goals, the company is focusing on three key areas. First is steel-making technology. Currently, 60-65 per cent of its production is gas-based, and AM/NS plans to adopt newer technologies and expand its operations in this area.
The second is setting up four additional scrap processing units following the success of its first unit in Khopoli, Maharashtra.
And the third is advanced steel for automotive applications. The company is introducing technology in India that allows automobile manufacturers to reduce vehicle weight by up to 40 per cent, significantly improving fuel consumption. Dhar said, “This not only makes steel greener but also integrates advanced technology into steel products.”
AM/NS anticipates growing its market share in the automotive sector to 30-35 per cent by FY30, up from the current 15 per cent. However, a substantial portion of its sales will still come from the infrastructure and construction sectors, which currently account for 62-65 per cent of its business.
He said that in developed economies, the percentage of steel consumption in the automotive sector is much higher. Additionally, steel consumed by the engineering, tools, and manufacturing sectors is relatively low in India, at 7-8 per cent. “Therefore, there is a need for India to engage in full-fledged manufacturing. Consumption can grow significantly with the advent of new technologies,” he suggested.
AM/NS, which has a current market share of 13 per cent, aims to increase this to 20-25 per cent by 2030, bolstered by future plans.
At the Hazira plant in Gujarat, the company is looking to boost its production capacity from 9.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 15.8 mtpa at an investment of ₹60,000 crore. Plans to set up greenfield plants in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are underway to achieve its vision of 40 mtpa production capacity by 2035.
Bigger push for sustainability
* To qualify as green steel, the CO2 emissions intensity of a plant must be below 2.2 tCO2/tcs
* AM/NS India aims to reduce 20% carbon emission intensity by 2030
* For FY23, the company achieved a CO2 intensity of 2.17 tCO2/tcs — 14% lower than national average
