BHP has taken the first step in its partnership with one of India’s largest private steel companies, JSW Steel, and carbon capture solutions provider Carbon Clean.
The parties are collaborating to accelerate deployment of carbon capture technology for steelmaking decarbonisation, following the recent signing of a joint study agreement.
Under this agreement, the parties will commence joint studies to explore the feasibility of Carbon Clean’s CycloneCC modular technology to capture up to 100,000 tonnes per year of CO2 emissions – the largest scale CycloneCC deployment to date in steelmaking.
India’s steel production is set to double by 2030, and will likely have a critical role in achieving India’s target of net-zero by 2070.
With the increasing commissioning of blast furnaces in India with decades of life ahead of them, supporting longer term near-zero decarbonisation routes is essential.
There are several challenges with the adoption of carbon capture technology in the steel industry, including capital expenditure and ongoing operating costs, as well as the integration of new equipment into an existing operations site with space limitations.
The CycloneCC rotating packed bed technology in combination with Carbon Clean’s proprietary APBS-CDRMax solvent aims to address these challenges through reducing total installed cost and the unit footprint by up to 50 per cent.
It is anticipated that these joint studies will be completed during 2026, at which time the parties will consider installing CycloneCC at JSW Steel’s Vijayanagar site in India’s southern state of Karnataka.
“We are actively studying multiple pathways for steel decarbonisation, including through use of hydrogen and renewable power, but we recognise that the blast furnace route will likely remain a pathway for the production of steel, particularly within India,” BHP chief commercial officer Rag Udd said.
“Partnerships and collaboration to accelerate the development and deployment of these technologies is essential, and we are pleased to be working with JSW Steel and Carbon Clean in tackling the challenge of decarbonising steelmaking.”
BHP also announced earlier this week that it is collaborating with India’s largest government-owned steel producer, the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), towards lower carbon steelmaking technology pathways for the country’s blast furnace route.