(Bloomberg) -- JSW Group and South Korea’s Posco Group plan to build a clean energy-powered steel mill in India starting with 5 million tons a year capacity, the Mumbai-based conglomerate said Tuesday.
The two groups signed an initial accord to jointly set up the steel factory, according to an exchange filing by the Indian company. The groups will also collaborate to produce renewable energy for the proposed steel plant and to make battery materials for electric vehicles.
Steelmakers in Asia have been seeking to reduce emissions at their operations to stave off carbon taxes in key export markets, including the European Union, although a full-scale decarbonization will involve expensive process overhauls, including running the plants on low-carbon hydrogen.
India’s steel demand is forecast to grow 6% annually through 2035, according to McKinsey & Co., driven by infrastructure construction, transport and consumer appliances.
The statement didn’t give details of investment in the proposed ventures.
The South Korean steelmaker had to earlier abandon a plan for a 12 million tons factory in eastern India after resistance by locals to land acquisition and lack of access to raw materials. In 2022, JSW Steel Ltd. got environmental clearance for a 13.2 million tons steel plant, worth more than $8 billion, at the site abandoned by Posco.
(Updates with context throughout.)
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