India has selected three pilot projects to trial the use of hydrogen in steelmaking to receive a share of ₹ 347 crore ($47.2m) in funding.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) selected Matrix Gas, Simplex Casting and the Steel Authority of India to build pilot plants with a combined steel output of 3,290 tonnes per day.
MNRE put out the call for projects in February, offering funds until FY 2029-30 for projects developing infrastructure for the use of hydrogen in iron and steel.
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Matrix Gas, alongside Gensol Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar and Metsol, was selected to build its pilot plant with 50 tonnes per day of steel output capacity.
It is understood this project plans to produce direct reduced iron (DRI) using 100% hydrogen.
Another consortium led by Simplex Castings, with BSBK, Ten Eight Investment and IIT Bhilai, secured funding for a 40-tonne-per-day plant. According to MNRE, this development will use hydrogen in a blast furnace to reduce coal consumption.
Steel Authority of India also made the cut; planning the largest plant of three with 3,200 tonnes of steel per day, with hydrogen injected into a vertical shaft for DRI production.
MNRE expects that all three pilot projects will be commissioned within the next three years, with hopes that they will pave the way for the scale-up of hydrogen-based steel production technologies in India.
The scheme comes as part of the country’s National Green Hydrogen Mission. Planned to deliver Rs. 19,744 crores ($2.3bn) until FY 2029-30, the mission hopes to decarbonise the India economy, reduce fossil fuel imports and establish the country as a green hydrogen leader.
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Will DRI be key to producing sustainable steel?
