Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) and Jindal Renewables will invest in green hydrogen production for steel making in Angul, Odisha. JSPL plans to incorporate green hydrogen into its Direct Reduced Iron units.

In the first phase, Jindal Renewables will develop a green hydrogen generation capacity of up to 4,500 tons per annum, set to commence by December 2025. The project will also supply 36,000 tons of oxygen annually to the Angul steelworks and ~3 GW of renewable energy to JSPL’s facilities. Integrating green hydrogen will reduce the steelmaker’s dependence on coal-fired energy by 50% in the next two to three years and help lower its carbon footprint.

While JSPL will provide essential infrastructure and support, Jindal Renewables will handle developing and operating green hydrogen and renewable energy facilities. The two group companies signed a memorandum of understanding to significantly slash the cost of green hydrogen production and ensure a sustainable business model by locking in offtake for the next 25 years.

Green hydrogen is an emerging solution to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors like steel manufacturing. At the Mercom India Renewables Summit 2024 in New Delhi in July, experts discussed strategies to scale green hydrogen production and create a market for it across sectors that contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

In February, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched pilot projects to decarbonize the steel sector using green hydrogen under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

In 2022, the government told Parliament that it is considering mandating the use of ‘green steel’ in government projects. For the medium term until 2047, the focus of the steel sector will be on green hydrogen and carbon capture. In February, Jindal Steel & Power commissioned a 15 MWdc rooftop solar project at its steel manufacturing plant in Angul, Odisha. The 15 MW capacity comprised two projects of 12 MWdc and 3 MWdc. The project is expected to help power partial operations at the Angul plate mill.