Mukesh Kumar, the Director of Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) told PTI that the plan is in line with the government’s aim to reduce the country’s dependence on import for crude oil besides addressing the issue of carbon emissions. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), under the Ministry of Steel, is the country’s largest steel-making company having an installed capacity of about 21 million tonne per annum (MTPA).
SRTMI is a collaborative research platform formed jointly by the steel ministry and domestic steel players which facilitates research and development (R&D) in the iron and steel sector by strengthening association among industry, academia and research bodies.
“This would be the fourth such plant in the world in the steel sector, and overall the first in India. As of now the bio-ethanol fuel generation technology is being used at two plants in China and one at ArcelorMittal’s plant in Belgium,” he said.
The government has asked SAIL to prepare and submit a detailed project report (DPR) on the project, and SRTMI will facilitate SAIL in the project, he said while replying to a question related to the timeline for setting up the project.