Indian government-run steel producer Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and resource major BHP Billiton have inked an agreement to collaborate on strategies for low-emission steelmaking technologies, according to a statement from SAIL on Tuesday, October 8.
Both companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support decarbonization in steelmaking, the statement said.
“This collaboration is an important step for SAIL and BHP in promoting lower-carbon steelmaking technology pathways for the blast furnace route in India. Under this MoU, the parties are already exploring several workstreams supporting the potential decarbonization at SAIL’s integrated steel plants which operate blast furnaces (BF), with an initial study to assess various strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG),” it said.
These workstreams will consider the role of alternate reductants such as hydrogen and biochar for blast furnaces, to build local research and development capability to support the decarbonization transition.
“SAIL is looking forward to this collaboration with BHP in taking a step forward towards engaging in developing sustainable ways to produce steel. The emergent need to align the steel sector with climate commitments is non-negotiable,” SAIL chairman Amarendu Prakash said.
BHP’s chief commercial officer Rag Udd said, “We recognise that decarbonising this industry is a challenge that we cannot meet alone, and we must come together to leverage shared expertise and resources, to support the development of technologies and capability that could have the potential to create a real change in carbon emissions both now and in the longer term.”