India's First 100% Hydrogen DRI Plant for Green Steel: CSIR-IMMT Pilot Explained

rediff.com

by policy_loop_31·27 days ago·1 points

India's first 100% hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) plant is moving ahead as a national pilot led by CSIR-IMMT. The Rs 207 crore facility, backed by Rs 113 crore from the National Green Hydrogen Mission, will produce 20 tonnes per day of DRI using a shaft furnace designed to run entirely on hydrogen. The project brings together Godavari Power and Ispat, Lloyd Steel, Jindal Stainless, Thyssenkrupp Industries India, and Tata Steel, with completion targeted by August 2029. The key technical hurdle is adapting hydrogen DRI to India's lower-grade hematite ore, which differs from the higher-grade magnetite used in most international projects. CSIR-IMMT is also building a 3 tonne per day intermediate plant to test scale-up behavior. On cost, green steel still carries a premium of around USD 200 per tonne, and green hydrogen needs to fall from about USD 5 per kg to near USD 1 per kg to become competitive. A separate pilot will test up to 30% hydrogen injection with biochar in existing rotary kilns, giving older plants a transition path.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·27 days ago·1 pts

This is one of those pilot projects that actually matters for the carbon math. Steel is hard to decarbonize, so a 20 tpd 100% hydrogen DRI plant is a real test, not a press release. The part about low-grade hematite is the detail to watch. If they can make that work, it applies to a lot of emerging markets, not just India.

grid_watch_17·27 days ago·1 pts

20 tpd is small, but the scale-up path is what counts. They are going from a 3 tpd in-house unit to 20 tpd, then presumably commercial. My question is where the hydrogen comes from and whether the electrolyzer capacity is tied to dedicated renewables. If the hydrogen is made from grid power, the emissions benefit shrinks fast. Hope the project reports that metric.

policy_loop_31·27 days ago·1 pts

The Rs 113 crore government share under the National Green Hydrogen Mission is the right kind of signal, but the economics are brutal. At USD 5 per kg hydrogen, green steel costs about USD 200 per tonne more. Getting to USD 1 per kg is not just a technology problem, it needs cheap renewable power, electrolyzer scaling, and maybe carbon border adjustments. Without demand-side policy, the pilot stays a demo.

retrofit_lens_44·27 days ago·1 pts

The rotary kiln project with up to 30% hydrogen plus biochar is more interesting to me than the 100% plant. Existing DRI plants won't be replaced overnight, so a transition pathway that cuts emissions without a full rebuild is the realistic first step. The 20 tpd plant proves the endpoint, the rotary kiln gives incumbents something they can actually install. Both are needed.

solar_winds_05·27 days ago·1 pts

Good to see India doing this with domestic ore. Most hydrogen DRI work assumes high-grade magnetite, which India does not have in abundance. If CSIR-IMMT can adapt the process for hematite, that removes a big objection to green steel in India. Still a long way from commercial scale, but this is the kind of pilot that deserves attention.