India’s Jindal Steel Power Promotes Green Hydrogen Plan, Striving to Accelerate Decarbonization Transformation

On September 16, 2024, India's Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) announced plans to introduce "green" hydrogen gas into its 1.8 million ton direct reduced iron (DRI) plant located in Angoul, Odisha.

According to the cooperation SG345 Grade D steel agreement signed between JSPL and Jindal Renewable Power Pte Ltd. (JRPL) on the same day, JRPL will develop a green hydrogen production facility with an annual output of 4500 tons, which is expected to be put into use in December 2025.

Green hydrogen is produced through renewable energy sources, while gray hydrogen is produced through steam reforming of natural gas or methane. In addition, JRPL will provide 36000 tons of oxygen and 3 gigawatts of renewable energy to Angoul Steel Plant annually, which is expected to help JSPL reduce its dependence on coal-fired power by half in the next two to three years. The annual crude steel production capacity of Angoul factory is 4.25 million tons. JSPL stated, "The company will provide necessary infrastructure support, and JRPL will be responsible for developing and operating green hydrogen and renewable energy facilities The goal of JSPL is to achieve net zero emissions by 2047, while the domestic steel industry in India plans to achieve this goal by 2070. In the fiscal year 2023-24 (April to March of the following year), JSPL reduced its greenhouse gas emissions from 2.60 tons per ton of crude steel to 2.58 tons. JSPL currently has a total annual SG345 Grade D steel production capacity of 3.12 million tons of direct reduced iron in Angoul (Odisha) and Laiger (Chhattisgarh).

This action is part of JSPL's plan to expand DRI production capacity. The company plans to build a new DRI factory with an annual output of 2 million tons in Angoul and construct two DRI factories with an annual output of 2.7 million tons in the further expansion phase. Indian steel production companies are gradually seeking ways to use hydrogen in their production processes to achieve decarbonization. Last April, Tata Steel launched a trial of a hydrogen injection system at the 'E' blast furnace in Jamshedebur, Jharkhand, using a 40% hydrogen ratio. JSW Energy announced in June that it has signed a seven-year green hydrogen supply agreement with JSW Steel to supply 3800 tons annually and lead the development of India's largest commercial green hydrogen project. In addition, the Indian Ministry of Steel has established 14 working groups dedicated to promoting the application of green steel technology, one of which focuses on the use of green hydrogen SG345 Grade D steel.