India’s sponge iron production rises 17% y-o-y in 2023

Production of direct reduced iron (DRI), or sponge iron, in India increased by an impressive 17% y-o-y to around 49 million tonnes (mnt) in calendar year 2023 (CY’23) from a little under 42 mnt in CY’22, as per SteelMint data. Sponge iron production rode the wave of a robust growth in domestic crude steel production, especially through the EAF-IF route. As per estimates, around 26% of domestic crude steel production is based on sponge iron.