India: Greta Energy Ltd. breaks ground on coal gasification-based green steel plant in Maharashtra

• Plant will have 1.2 mnt pellet, 600,000 t DRI facilities
• 1,500 t/day CO2 capture and utilisation facility mooted

Greta Energy Ltd., a flagship company of Greta Industries, Singapore, recently broke ground on its upcoming integrated green steel plant at Bhadravati in Maharashtra. The ‘bhoomi poojan’ of the coal gasification-based green steel plant was held in the august presence of Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Coal & Mines, government of India.

The upcoming facility will integrate coal gasification technology to convert domestic coal into syngas (synthetic natural gas) for producing DRI, followed by steelmaking through electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.

The integrated plant will include a 1.2 mnt/year pellet plant, coal gasification complex with syngas capacity of 90,000Nm3/hr, syngas-based DRI plant 600,000 t/year, steel melt shop of 550,000 t/year, and rolling mill (400,000 t/year), along with advanced sustainability measures including potential carbon capture of 1,500 t/day capacity plus CO2 purification, liquification and utilisation systems.

Emissions profile

Greta’s steel plant will have an emissions intensity of 0.3 tCO2 per tonne of steel compared with the country average of 2.54 tCO2/t of steel. Greta Energy already operates a 15 MW biomass-based power plant and the steelmaking operations will be based entirely on renewable energy.

Utilisation of process gases and carbon capture and utilisation will lead to deeper decarbonisation of operations.

Green steel in Maharashtra

Reddy along with Chief Minister Fadnavis performed the ‘bhoomi poojan’ for two private entities – Greta Energy and Metal and New Era Cleantech Solution Pvt. Ltd – in the Bhadrawati Industrial Area of Maharashtra’s, Chandrapur. These projects are among the seven that have been selected for grant of financial incentive under the government’s scheme. Out of the seven projects, four are in Maharashtra, including one by Western Coalfields Ltd. (WCL).

Fadnavis highlighted the strong potential for developing a major steel hub in western India with a focus on green steel. The emerging steel cluster spanning Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur and the wider Vidarbha region will play a significant role in strengthening India’s steel manufacturing capacity and supporting the country’s long-term infrastructure development, he said.