MUMBAI: Steel scrap is emerging as the key input for green steel, speakers at the 12th Indian Steel Markets Conference said.

“Steel is one of the few materials that can be recycled infinitely without losing its strength or quality. That makes it not only the backbone of industrial growth, but also of sustainability. India today consumes around 42 million tonnes of scrap annually, and this figure is rising by over 6% year-on-year. Nearly 9 million tonnes of scrap is imported into the country every year,” Vinaya Varma, Managing Director, mjunction services limited, said at the opening session of the two-day 12th Indian Steel Markets Conference organised by mjunction services limited kicked off here today. 

In line with global concern of decarbonising the steel sector, the theme of the conference this year is the “Indian Steel Value Chain – Recycle. Reshape. Innovate. Sustain.”

“Sustainability is no longer optional but strategic,” said Syed Jawed Ahmed, Executive Director, SAIL, detailing how the public sector company is embracing sustainability and creating capabilities to meet evolving green steel norms.

Sourcing scrap remains a key concern for India as steel demand continues to rise.

“While government capex is driving 60% of steel usage, India’s young and growing population is also generating demand,” Girishkumar Kadam, Senior Vice President & Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings, ICRA, said.

As steel demand and production rise, the sector is facing raw material sourcing challenges.

Import of coking coal is going to be expensive in the long run, while aggressive bidding for iron ore mines is driving up domestic iron ore costs, according to Sandeep Kumar, Vice President, Raw Materials, Tata Steel.

Beyond decarbonisation, the conference seeks to deliver deep insights into the volatile global and domestic landscape, critical policy shifts, evolving trade dynamics, and the imperative for sustainable practices that are reshaping the industry and driving the dialogue on India’s ambitious steel growth trajectory.

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The announcement coincides with the COP28 United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Dubai. The growing participation in the program promises to greatly expand access to renewable energy in the semiconductor space. The first-of-its-kind program was first announced in July, with sponsors Intel and Applied Materials.

According to a recent study by the SEMI Semiconductor Climate Consortium, the semiconductor industry’s carbon footprint was equivalent to 500Mt of CO2 in 2021, with 16% coming from the supply chain. By transitioning suppliers onto lower-carbon sources of energy and supporting them in other decarbonization actions like electrification, the industry can make a significant impact on its overall Scope 3 emissions.

“We are delighted to welcome Google, ASM, and HP to the Catalyze program. Their decision to join supports the ambition to accelerate the decarbonization of supply chains,” said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman, of Schneider Electric. “Scope 3 emissions have proven a challenge to track and manage, but the Catalyze program enables companies and their suppliers to engage and collaborate in their energy transition and decarbonization.“

The Catalyze program strives to combine energy purchasing power across the semiconductor value chain to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy projects, provide suppliers with the opportunity to participate in the market for utility-scale power purchase agreements, enable any company that supplies to a Catalyze sponsor to join across the IT supply landscape, increase awareness of the availability of renewable energy in specific global regions where the semiconductor value chain is operational, and leverage numerous educational and digital technology platform engagements to drive measurable actions in supply chain decarbonization.

The growing participation in the Catalyze program promises to greatly expand access to renewable energy in the semiconductor space, to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and overall Scope 3 emissions.

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