India’s top companies working on low-carbon industrial solutions have partnered with Swedish technology firms on seven new projects aimed at reducing emissions in India’s steel and cement industries.
These projects include the use of hydrogen in steel production, the conversion of steel slag into green cement and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce emissions in cement production, the Swedish embassy said in a press statement on Monday, December 8.
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Seven innovative projects have been selected to conduct pre-pilot feasibility studies in India under the LeadIT Industry Transformation Partnership, with funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India and the Swedish Energy Agency, the statement said.
These seven decarbonization projects for the Indian steel and cement industry are driven by leading Indian and global companies, research institutes and technology innovators.
Ambuja Cements Ltd, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel are participating
Key participants include Tata Steel, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements Ltd, Jindal Steel and Power, Prism Johnson, Cemvision, Ecometrix AM, Höganäs AB, Hoganas India Ltd and Captimise AB (Andritz Group), along with Swedish technology leaders Kanthal and Swerim, the statement said.
Leading Indian institutes IIT Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Hyderabad and Datta Meghe College of Engineering are partners in these seven projects.
“The Industrial Transformation Leadership Group welcomes the new partnerships and looks forward to following their transformational ambitions. We hope it will inspire others to accelerate the transition. The match between Swedish and Indian organizations and companies, supported by key public institutions on both sides, is leading to how to model modern industrial partnerships.” Per Andersson, head of the LeadIT Secretariat, said while announcing the new India-Swedish cooperation projects at the Swedish Embassy on Monday.
“About a quarter of global greenhouse gases”
Today, heavy industry produces about a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses almost one third of the world’s energy. In India, the largest industrial emitter is the iron and steel sector, which contributes 10-12% of the country’s total emissions, while the cement industry adds nearly 6%.
As India moves towards its net-zero goal by 2070, reducing emissions from these hard-to-cut industries is critical to supporting the country’s infrastructure development, industrial growth and long-term climate ambitions.
Oscar Hallén, CEO of Cemvision, said: “The ability to turn environmental liabilities into valuable resources is exactly the kind of climate innovation that heavy industry needs. Working with Tata Steel, we hope to show how steel slag can become the cornerstone of cement with near-zero CO2 emissions, while metals are recovered and returned to steelmaking.”
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A Tata Steel spokesperson was quoted in the statement as saying: “By combining Cemvision’s expertise in slag and binder treatment with our knowledge and operational scale of steelmaking, we see a clear opportunity to build a more circular and efficient value chain. This project can help us transform today’s slag into the low-carbon building materials of tomorrow.”
These initiatives reflect a strong India-Sweden alliance committed to building the foundations of a cleaner industrial future. The feasibility study will enable scalable low-carbon technologies that will support India’s net-zero ambitions while strengthening the global momentum towards sustainable steel and cement production.
1- Tata Steel, Cemvision, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, JK Cement – Rebirth of Steel Slag: Creating Dual Value through High Metal Recovery and Sustainable Manufacturing of Supplementary Cementitious Material (SCM). It will create an industrial symbiosis where the by-products of the steel industry will become a resource for cement production.
2- Tata Steel, IIT Hyderabad, GREEN14 – Microwave Plasma Conversion of CO2 from Blast Furnace Flue Gas: Investigates microwave plasma assisted conversion of steel blast furnace waste gas CO2 to carbon monoxide (CO) which can be re-injected as a reductant.
3- IIT Bombay, Ambuja Cements Ltd, EcoTech Solutions: Feasibility study for setting up an integrated carbon capture and utilization unit in a cement industry facility.
4- Ecometrix AM, Prism Johnson, Datta Meghe College of Engineering: A Feasibility Study of an AI-Based ACORN Platform to Optimize Concrete Mix Designs in the RMC Industry to Reduce Climate Impact. Explores the potential of using AI to optimize specific recipes.
5- Kanthal, Swerim of Sweden, Jindal Steel and Power: Electric Heating Methods for Future CO2 Neutral Steelmaking. Assess electric gas heating concepts focusing on hydrogen and other process gases in the ironmaking process with the specific aim of reducing or eliminating CO2 emissions.
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The match between Swedish and Indian organizations and companies… leads to how to model modern industrial partnerships.
6- Metsol AB, Höganäs AB, Hoganas India Ltd and IIT Bhubaneswar: Electrified green iron production pilot project using rotary kiln technology. It aims to carry out a feasibility study for a pilot plant based on a new fossil-free iron production process using hydrogen and an electrically heated rotary kiln.
7- Captimise AB (Andritz Group), My Home Industries Pvt. Ltd. (Maha Cement) Decarbonization of cement production with carbon capture. Explore three carbon capture technologies – amine absorption, hot potassium carbonate and membranes.
