Essar confirms investment in green steel production in Saudi Arabia

The Indian conglomerate Essar Group has confirmed a $4 billion investment in a green steel plant in Saudi Arabia. The company will also invest approximately $3.6 billion over the next four years in a green hydrogen plant in India (Jamnagar, Gujarat). This was announced by Prashant Ruia, Director of Essar Capital, which manages the group’s investment portfolio, The Hindu Business Line reports.

It is worth noting that Essar planned to start work on a steel plant with a production capacity of 4 million tons per year in Ras Al Khaire in 2024. The goal was to meet domestic demand for steel in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the Indian conglomerate expected to receive final approvals by June 2024.

In addition, according to Ruia, Essar Future Energy plans to create 1 GW of hydrogen capacity in Jamnagar over the next four years, along with the associated capacity to produce 1 million tons of transportable green molecules per year.

The company will use 4.5 GW of renewable energy from its sister concern Essar Renewables to split water molecules to produce hydrogen and oxygen.

Last December, Essar announced that it would invest $6.6 billion in energy transition, power and port projects in Gujarat. The conglomerate was resuming strategic investments after selling some of its assets a year earlier in sectors such as telecommunications, oil refining, and steel to pay off $25 billion in debt.