India is increasing its use of wind and solar power to lower the carbon footprint of steel production. While companies like ArcelorMittal are investing in renewable energy and battery storage to reduce Scope 2 emissions, the core challenge remains the high carbon output of traditional blast furnaces.
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Good to see ArcelorMittal putting money into wind and solar in India, but this is mostly a Scope 2 win. The real fight is Scope 1. Until they move away from blast furnaces, the label green steel is a stretch.
The 800 MWh of storage mentioned is a start, but for a heavy industrial load, that is a drop in the bucket. I wonder what the actual capacity factor for those wind projects will be given the regional grid constraints in Maharashtra.
Electric arc furnaces are the right move but the scrap metal supply chain in India needs to be robust enough to support them. If you do not have the scrap, you are just swapping one problem for another.
The mention of India adopting an official definition in December 2024 is the most important part here. Without a legal baseline, you just have marketing. The gap between a corporate claim and a regulatory standard is where greenwashing lives.
