JSW ropes in Finnish firm to reduce CO2 emission at cement factory in Karnataka

JSW Group has ambitious sustainability targets of reducing its specific CO2 emissions, aligning with the Sustainable Development Scenario of the International Energy Agency and India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.

JSW Group, a $23 billion diversified business conglomerate, has entered into a strategic agreement with Coolbrook, a Finnish transformational technology and engineering company. The strategic partnership would focus on implementing Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) Technology at JSW’s manufacturing sites in Vijayanagar in Karnataka, with the primary goal of achieving low-CO2 emission in steel and cement production.

RDH technology utilises renewable electricity to power high-temperature industrial processes, including in steel and cement production, significantly reducing the need to burn fossil fuels. In steel manufacturing, the technology targets the decarbonisation of manufacturing processes in traditional blast furnaces, and the Direct Reduction of Iron (DRI) based production of iron and steel.

Coolbrook’s Technology has the potential to reduce global CO2 emission in heavy industries by 30%, equivalent to more than 2.4 billion tonnes annually, by replacing the burning of fossil fuels with electrification powered by renewable energy. The technology has two main applications — electrifying and decarbonising high-temperature process heating in the production of cement, steel and iron, and chemicals, and replacing fossil-fuel-fired steam crackers in petrochemical industry to reach 100% CO2 free olefin production.

JSW Group has ambitious sustainability targets of reducing its specific CO2 emissions, aligning with the Sustainable Development Scenario of the International Energy Agency and India’s Nationally Determined Contributions. The Coolbrook collaboration would support JSW Steel’s commitment to accelerating decarbonisation and achieving its net zero aspirations.

P.K. Murugan, President – JSW Steel Vijayanagar in Karnataka and Salem in Tamil Nadu, said, “Deployment of RDH technology is expected to have a sizable impact on the decarbonisation of the group’s manufacturing process. We are happy to onboard Coolbrook as a partner on our journey to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve our climate targets.”