BHP and India’s Tata Steel, one of the largest steel producers in the world, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly “study and explore” lower carbon iron and steelmaking technology.
The agreement will see BHP and Tata collaborate in two major areas — the use of biomass as an energy source and the implementation of carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) in steel production — with a view to lowering the intensity of emissions from the blast furnace steel route.
BHP said the partnership aims to promote India’s aspirations for carbon neutrality and help both businesses advance toward their individual climate change goals.
“The technologies explored in this partnership can potentially reduce emission intensity of integrated steel mills by up to 30%,” it said in a statement.
“Importantly these projects demonstrate how abatements applied to the blast furnace iron-making process, which contributes to more than 60% of India’s steel production, can materially reduce the carbon intensity of existing capacity.”
The two mining giants have also committed to “a robust ongoing knowledge exchange” that could lead to further collaborations and business opportunities in the steel value chain, as well as in the research and innovation sectors in both India and Australia.
BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, highlighted how BHP can contribute to Tata Steel’s, and the broader steel industry’s role in helping to achieve India’s ambitions to be carbon neutral.
“India has invested heavily in the blast furnace route for steel production, and its crude steel output was 118Mt last year. It is, therefore, critical to innovate and demonstrate pathways to reduce emissions from the blast furnace, while alternative steelmaking pathways emerge and low carbon energy systems scale-up.
“A greener steel industry will be integral for India’s growth and decarbonisation journey, and we intend to work hard with Tata Steel to enable this development and hopefully set a benchmark for others in the industry to emulate and learn from.
“Finding pathways to net zero for steelmaking is challenging and complex but we believe that by working with industry leaders like Tata Steel, together, we will find solutions more quickly to help reduce carbon emissions in steel production.”
