In 18 to 24 months, JSW Steel anticipates using green energy from the 3,800-tonne hydrogen plant being built at its Vijayanagar facility and supplying green steel at a premium. In order to get green hydrogen and green oxygen for the production of green steel, the company has inked a contract with the group company JSW Energy.
According to Jayant Acharya, Joint Managing Director of JSW Steel, the company will receive close to 25 megawatts (MW) of continuous renewable energy, and there is a healthy demand for green steel in both the domestic and international markets.
Based on how much thermal power is replaced with green energy, the company will receive carbon credits. According to Acharya, carbon credits are currently sold for around $100 each.
Sajjan Jindal, Chairman of JSW Steel, stated that the company has contracts for 1GW of capacity and that 225MW of solar power at the Vijayanagar plant was successfully operationalized last April, making it the first steel factory in India to embrace large-scale renewable energy deployment.
“As we aim to reach a capacity of 50 million tonnes, our aspiration is to power our entire setup through 10 GW of renewable capacity, making us possibly the world’s first major steel manufacturer to achieve this milestone,” Jindal said in the annual report.
Depending on whether the power plant uses solar or wind energy, the cost to build a 1 GW (equivalent to 1,000 MW) power plant from renewable sources might range from 4,500 crore to 6,500 crore. JSW Steel has a domestic capacity of 27.7 mt and will reach 37 mt by FY25.
Backward integration has become increasingly significant as JSW Steel has increased its steel production capacity. According to Jindal, the company is looking into the Canadian coal market and will shortly finalise a strategy.
