The domestic steel and cement industry will require an additional Rs 47 lakh crore investment to meet net zero targets, as per the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report. These two sectors would need Rs one lakh crore each year in additional operational expenditure (Opex) to achieve this.
The CEEW analyses reveals that an 8.25 percent reduction in steel emissions and a 32 percent reduction in cement emissions is possible without any price increase by adopting efficient technologies such as waste-heat recovery and energy-efficient drives and controls. Moreover, a 33 percent reduction in the combined carbon emissions of the steel and cement industries could be achieved with just 8.5 percent of the total additional Capex and 30 percent of the additional annual Opex.
The report highlights that reduction can be done without considering the need for carbon capture, and with the requisite supply of alternative fuels and raw materials.
Decarbonising will also make the industries market competitive and future-ready to comply with sustainability-driven regulations. India ranks as the second-largest producer of steel and cement in the world.
