India and Sweden have announced a collaborative effort to advance green steel development and production, according to an Indian government official on October 12. The partnership entails conducting joint research on green steel production technologies, establishing pilot projects, and exploring innovative methods like transitioning to hydrogen-based steelmaking instead of relying on fossil fuel-powered blast furnaces.
Both nations plan to seek funding from various multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, OECD, World Bank, and private fund managers.
While the Indian Ministry of Steel is taking the lead on this collaboration, the final agreement will be overseen by the Ministry of Forests, Environment, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) within the Indian government.
The Swedish Research Institute for Mining, Metallurgy, and Materials has contributed insights during government-level discussions and emphasized the need to launch initiatives for developing steelmaking processes from lower-grade ores, substituting the blast furnace route with the direct reduction iron (DRI) process, and promoting the use of hydrogen and bio-carbons as reductants.
