India's Steel, Cement industries face Rs 47 tn challenge for Net-Zero emissions

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India's Steel, Cement industries face Rs 47 tn challenge for Net-Zero emissions

India's Steel, Cement industries face Rs 47 tn challenge for Net-Zero emissions

Industry News
Oct 19,23

According to a recent report by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), India's existing steel and cement plants must invest Rs 47 trillion in additional capital expenditure to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. The report also stated that these sectors will require an extra Rs 1 trillion each year in operational expenditure to become net-zero.

The analysis highlighted that adopting efficient technologies like waste-heat recovery and energy-efficient drives and controls could lead to an 8% to 25% reduction in steel emissions and a 32% reduction in cement emissions without any price increase. Furthermore, a 33% reduction in combined carbon emissions from steel and cement industries could be achieved with just 8.5% of the total additional capital expenditure and 30% of the additional annual operational expenditure. This reduction could be accomplished without relying on carbon capture and with a stable supply of alternative fuels and raw materials.

The report emphasised that decarbonising India's steel and cement industries would not only help the country meet its climate goals but also enhance market competitiveness and readiness for a future driven by sustainability-focused regulations. Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of CEEW, stressed the importance of this decarbonisation effort.

The study revealed that in 2021-22, the Indian steel industry emitted 297 million tonnes of CO2 during crude steel production, with an average emission intensity of 2.36 tCO2/tcs. Tightening emission intensity limits would increase the cost of steel production. Depending on the chosen production route, technology, and prevailing costs of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS), near net-zero steel could be 40-70% more expensive than current costs.

The report also noted the critical role of CCUS in decarbonising the steel industry, with the potential to reduce up to 56% of sector emissions. However, CCUS technology is still in its early stages and needs extensive testing at scale before implementation.

Source: ET Energy World