(397f) Evaluation and Optimization of Decarbonization Strategies in Indian Steel Industry for Sustainable Scenarios

India is of particular interest in the context of climate change initiatives due to the immense economic and population growth expected between 2020 to 2040¹. The urban population is expected to increase by 270 million people and building expansion could result in residential floor space nearly tripling. Out of the industrial sectors, iron and steel is the most emissions-intensive in the country and accounts for 12% of national emissions. Steel production is expected to increase by at least 100 mega-tonnes, driven by consumption in construction, infrastructure, and capital goods^2,3. Unlike other countries, India relies heavily on coal for iron and steel-making; this fossil fuel represents 88% of energy consumption. According to the Ministry of Steel, without implementing decarbonization strategies in the sector, 2030 CO₂ emissions could be almost 200 Mt greater than without intervention⁴. Modeling these decarbonization strategies in terms of cost and emissions on a plant and systems level is critical to understanding the impacts and necessary changes for climate mitigation targets.

The cost and emission analysis are developed and evaluated using the Sustainable Energy Systems Analysis Modelling Environment (SESAME). SESAME is a software tool that conducts life cycle, techno-economic, and systems-level analysis for power, transportation, and industrial sectors^5,6. Specifically, the SESAME Industry Model calculates gate-to-gate CO₂ emissions for the raw material preparation, ironmaking, and steelmaking steps. A combination of literature and industry sources provide material and energy inputs for the plant-level carbon balance. SESAME currently includes the following steel production routes: BF-BOF (and with CCS), HIsarna-BOF (and with CCS), COREX-BOF (and with CCS), DRI-EAF (Coal, Natural Gas, Electrolytic Hydrogen), and scrap-based EAF. BF-BOF and DRI-EAF (Coal) are the two dominant pathways for producing steel in India. Costs are based on capital and operational expenditures sourced from literature and industry reports and scaled accordingly. SESAME also analyzes the direct emissions and costs for the Indian iron and steel industry. The systems level analysis assists in evaluating and optimizing production strategies for steel demand based on EPPA and TERI projections^2,7. The optimization model is mixed-integer linear program that presents a portfolio of strategies based on minimized cost. Overall, the SESAME Industry Model is a user-facing tool that assists in estimating emissions & costs for decarbonization for the iron and steel industry within India and beyond.

The current, preliminary emission analysis indicates a combination of decarbonization options exists for India’s steel industry. For BF-BOF, smelting alternatives offer at least a 10% reduction by switching to the more energy-efficient technologies. Smelting reduction technologies also benefit from being combined with other decarbonization methods like carbon capture. With a post-combustion system of MEA solvent and natural gas for regeneration fuel, emissions are decreased by at least 50%. Within primary steelmaking, DRI-EAF alternatives, the emission results yield an almost 60% reduction for natural gas and a 1% increase in emissions for electrolytic hydrogen when relying on the main grid⁸. By introducing more renewable sources of energy, H₂-DRI reduces emissions by more than 80%. Further analysis will build upon the current emission results by including cost and system-level evaluation of the impact of decarbonization strategies in the Indian iron and steel industry.

Sources

1. “India Energy Outlook 2021 – Analysis.” Accessed: Feb. 10, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.iea.org/reports/india-energy-outlook-2021

2. Hall, T. Spencer, and S. Kumar, “Towards-a-Low-Carbon-Steel-Sector-Report.pdf,” 2020. https://shaktifoundation.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Towards-a-Low-Car....
3. Gupta, C. Apran, and Federation of Indian Chambers of, “Indian Secondary Steel Industry Opportunities and Challenges.” https://ficci.in/publication.asp?spid=20782
4. Ministry of Steel, “Template on INDC-Mitigation,” 2015 2014. https://steel.gov.in/sites/default/files/TEMPLATES-%20MITIGATION_0.pdf
5. Gençer, E.; Torkamani, S.; Miller, I.; Wu, T. W.; O’Sullivan, F. Sustainable Energy System Analysis Modeling Environment: Analyzing Life Cycle Emissions of the Energy Transition. Applied Energy 2020, 277, 115550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115550.

6. Gençer, E. et al. SESAME https://sesame.mit.edu/.

7. Paltsev, S.; Gurgel, A.; Morris, J.; Chen, H.; Dey, S.; Marwah, S. Economic Analysis of the Hard-to-Abate Sectors in India. 34.

8. IEA (2020), Tracking Power 2020, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/tracking-power-2020