India seeks to significantly increase the use of scrap in steel production

India aims to increase the share of scrap metal in steel production to 50% by 2047. The government will rely on green steel to reduce pollution from the steel industry, Recycling International reports.

«In the next 25 years, the percentage of scrap will be 50%, 50% will be iron ore,» Steel Minister Jotiraditya Scindia said at a specialized conference.

According to the official, India produces about 25 million tons of scrap annually and imports about 5 million tons.

The official reminded that the country’s steel sector is known as a sector where it is difficult to reduce emissions, with emissions of 2.55 tons of CO2 per ton of steel produced.

The Minister believes that creating a network of advanced recycling centers can help develop the country’s industry.

«India has the potential to become a global leader in waste recycling given its large population and growing awareness of the importance of sustainable development,» Sanjay Mehta, President of the Indian Materials Recycling Association, said.

As GMK Center reported earlier, India needs more initiatives to generate additional scrap by 2030 to help its steel industry reduce emissions amid its announced decarbonization targets. In FY2022/2023, the country consumed about 32 million tons of scrap metal for steel production. Imports of ferrous scrap in the period amounted to about 9.8 million tons, a sharp increase from about 3.6 million tons in FY2021/2022.