Jindal Shadeed Group to set up a $3 billion green steel plant in Oman

Tags: Economy/Finance International News

The Jindal Shadeed Group has announced that it will invest more than $3 billion to set up a green steel plant in a special economic zone in the southern port city of Duqm, Oman. The hydrogen-ready steel project will have a capacity to produce 5 million tonnes of steel a year.  The proposed new green steel plant will use natural gas for the production of steel. 

Jindal Shadeed Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) Company. It also has a 2 million tonnes steel per annum steel plant at Sohar in Oman.

What is Green Steel?

Green steel is the manufacturing of steel without the use  carbon intensive fossil fuels. The steel is produced by using low-carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, natural gas, coal gasification, or electricity instead of the traditional carbon-intensive manufacturing route of coal-fired plants.

Why the need for Green steel?

Steel is one of the most used metals in the modern Industrial sectors. It is used to make household items, cars, defence equipment etc.  The Steel Industry is one of the major contributors to global warming. Around 75 per cent of steel globally is made in coal-fired blast furnaces, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere contributing to global warming.

To reduce the carbon emission the government is encouraging the steel companies to use hydrogen or low carbon energy sources for production of steel.

Green Steel and India 

The iron ore and steel industry globally accounts for around 8 percent of total CO2 emissions on an annual basis, whereas in India, it contributes 12 percent to the total CO2 emissions.

India has committed itself  to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2070 and if India has to achieve that target then the Indian  steel industry needs to reduce its emissions to net-zero by 2070. 

Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta  company has signed an agreement with IIT-Bombay to develop technology for producing green steel using hydrogen.

Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) plans to develop its Odisha plant into the largest and greenest facility in the world. The company claims to be the first steelmaker in the world to build coal gasification to produce steel using clean coal technologies.