Government Nods pilot projects to use hydrogen energy in steel production

The Union Government has given approval to three pilot projects that aim to incorporate hydrogen into steel manufacturing as part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission. Previously, the MNRE had released instructions for conducting trial projects in the steel industry as a part of the initiative.

The scheme's goal, as per the Ministry of new and renewable energy, is to discover and promote technologies that can integrate green hydrogen into steel production through pilot projects.

These initiatives aim to showcase the secure and effective utilization of hydrogen-based methods in steel manufacturing, confirming their technical feasibility, analyzing efficiency, and assessing economic feasibility, all with the objective of attaining low-carbon steel production.

Bids were requested for three areas: manufacturing Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) with 100% hydrogen in a vertical shaft, decreasing coal and coke consumption in blast furnaces by integrating hydrogen, and introducing hydrogen into vertical shaft-based DRI production units.

After carefully reviewing the proposals, the MNRE has approved three pilot projects in the steel sector: matrix Gas and Renewables Ltd, partnered with Gensol Engineering Ltd, IIT Bhubaneswar, and Metsol AB, Sweden, will establish a 50 TPD pilot plant; simplex Castings Ltd, in collaboration with BSBK Pvt. Ltd., Ten Eight Investment, and IIT Bhilai, will set up a 40 TPD pilot plant; and Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) in Ranchi will oversee the largest project with a capacity of 3,200 TPD.