New Delhi, Jun 7 (KNN) The Indian government is ramping up efforts to decarbonise the emissions-intensive steel industry through the use of green hydrogen.

The steel ministry has appointed its consultancy arm MECON to explore using green hydrogen in direct reduction of iron (DRI) and blast furnaces.

Iron and steel production accounts for about 12 per cent of India's carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing the sector's carbon footprint is crucial for meeting the country's net zero target.

MECON, under the steel ministry's guidance, will implement pilot schemes with a budgetary outlay of Rs 455 crore until 2029-30.

The pilots will evaluate three approaches - substituting natural gas with hydrogen in DRI production, injecting hydrogen into blast furnaces to cut coal and coke use, and producing DRI entirely using hydrogen. DRI is a less carbon-intensive method of making iron ore.

"This is a priority project towards decarbonising the steel sector," the ministry stated. Fourteen task forces have been set up to address various aspects like raw materials, technology and policy for greener steel production, reported moneycontrol.

India aims to annually produce 5 million metric tons of green hydrogen by 2030 to cut 50 million tons of carbon emissions and save over USD 12 billion in fossil fuel imports annually. However, green hydrogen is costlier than conventional hydrogen presently.

The government recently launched the National Green Hydrogen Mission to make India a global hub for green hydrogen production, use and export.

Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy via electrolysis of water.

(KNN Bureau)