ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel to Spend INR 100 Cr On Three Scrap-Processing Centres

While India clocked high imports of about 7 MTPA of steel scrap in 2022-23, companies anticipate imports will drop and are looking at ways of processing scrap within the country.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) is set to establish three dedicated scrap-processing centres in Gujarat and Maharashtra, as major steel companies in India anticipate difficulties in meeting their scrap requirements through imports.

AM/NS India said it will invest about INR 100 crore in the three centres—one at the flagship plant in Hazira, another in Ahmedabad, and the third in Khopoli, Maharashtra—by December 2024. These investments will also help the company achieve its carbon-emissions reduction targets by maximizing the use of steel scrap, it said.

“... we aim to significantly increase the scrap mix while simultaneously reducing dependence on steelmaking from primary raw materials like iron ore and coal,' said Dilip Oommen, chief executive of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.

AM/NS India has a current steelmaking capacity of 9 million tonnes a year and expects substantial potential for maximising the use of steel scrap during steelmaking. The company claims it achieved a 32% reduction in CO2 emissions intensity by December 2022 from 2015 levels. 

With these scrap processing centres, the company aims to achieve a 9% scrap mix by the end of 2025 with its new basic oxygen furnace and the existing electric arc furnace (EAF). Currently, it has a scrap mix of 3-5% of its total steelmaking capacity in the EAF.

India does not generate enough scrap to meet the industry's demands and depends on imports to a large extent. Imports are set to take a hit as countries around the world are recycling more scrap domestically to reduce the use of pollutive feedstocks such as iron ore in the steel-making process.

While India clocked high imports of about 7 MTPA of steel scrap in 2022-23, companies anticipate imports will drop and are looking at ways of processing scrap within the country.

Major steel manufacturers are setting up scrap yards across India to ensure availability. Tata Steel has announced a plan for foraying into secondary steel manufacturing, while JSW Steel has announced an ₹175 crore investment and expects to commission a shredder in western Maharashtra by next year. JSW Steel also plans to set up scrap-processing centers across India.

The Indian government is also encouraging the steel industry to focus on scrap-processing through the Ministry of Steel, which introduced the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy on 7 November, 2019. The policy provides a framework to establish metal scrapping centres in India for the scientific processing and recycling of ferrous scrap.

Courtesy: www.livemint.com

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