India will need to invest USD 283 billion (approximately INR 23.52 lakh crore) for decarbonising existing local steel production. This along with tapping Energy Efficiency Revolving Funds (EERF) and defining what should be ‘green steel’ are parts of a comprehensive decarbonisation strategy devised by the Union Steel Ministry.
The plan, officials say, will focus on increasing renewable energy penetration in the steel sector to 43% by 2029-30 from 7.2% in fiscal 2021-22. There may also be lower taxes for green steel production to incentivise adoption along with a mandate on luxury car producers for using the cleaner feedstock.
“The existing steel plants in India alone are estimated to need USD 283 billion investment to become green. The adoption of best available technologies in the existing small steel plants alone is estimated to be more than USD 13 billion and cost of process transition is an additional USD 150 billion,” the roadmap and action plan for greening the steel sector in India said.
