JSW Steel, India’s leading private steel company, is partnering with carbon capture solutions provider Carbon Clean and global resources company BHP to advance carbon capture technology for steelmaking decarbonization.
The collaboration follows the signing of a joint study agreement to explore the feasibility of Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC modular technology, which aims to capture up to 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, the largest CycloneCC deployment in steelmaking to date.
As the world’s second-largest steel producer, India’s output is expected to double by 2030, playing a crucial role in achieving the country’s net-zero target by 2070. With many blast furnaces set to operate for decades, exploring long-term near-zero decarbonization routes is essential. Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology is critical for reducing CO2 emissions intensity in steel production and other hard-to-abate industries.
However, adopting carbon capture technology poses challenges, including high capital expenditures, ongoing operational costs, and integrating new equipment within space-constrained existing operations. The CycloneCC rotating packed bed (RPB) technology, combined with Carbon Clean’s proprietary APBS-CDRMax solvent, aims to mitigate these issues by reducing total installed costs and footprint by up to 50pct, while offering equipment that is ten times smaller than conventional carbon capture solutions.
This project marks a significant step towards scaling up carbon capture, with joint studies expected to conclude by 2026. Following this, the parties will consider installing CycloneCC at JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar site in Karnataka. The project emphasizes utilization (the ‘U’ in CCUS), as successful implementation would allow JSW Steel to liquefy captured CO2 for local sale.
JSW Steel has a consolidated crude steel capacity of 35.7 mln tons per annum, including 1.5 mln tons from its U.S. operations.
