SEPTEMBER 20238TOPSTORYTATA STEEL AIMS TO RAISE THE AMOUNT OF HYDROGEN USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF STEELCOAL MINISTRY INTENDS TO BUILD HYDROELECTRIC PUMP STORAGE SYSTEMS ON ABANDONED MINESFollowing the successful completion of the pilot project at its Jamshedpur facility in Jharkhand, Tata Steel wants to expand the use of hydrogen in the steel-making process, according to the CEO and MD of the firm, T V Narendran.At its steel factory in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, Tata Steel started a groundbreaking experiment in April 2023 by injecting hydrogen gas using 40 Percent of the injection systems in the E-blast furnace. It was really successful, and while we will scale it up, eventually we need green hydrogen to be available in Eastern India, since that will dictate how it may be used, according to Narendran.He refused to specify, though, by how much the corporation intends to increase its use of hydrogen. The injection of hydrogen into blast furnaces aids in reducing the consumption of coal, hence lowering carbon footprint. "This is the first time in the history of the world that such a large quantity of hydrogen gas is being continuously injected in a blast furnace," he said.Speaking on the company's operations in the Netherlands, Narendran said the transition from coal to gas to hydrogen is crucial for the country since Tata Steel Netherlands would rank among the region's major consumers of hydrogen. The industry leader added that hydrogen is a crucial component of the solution for the steel industry's transition to a more environmentally friendly future since, like coal, it plays a significant role in the reduction of emissions throughout the steel-making process. Approximately 8 Percent of the global carbon footprint is caused by steel.Coal India and its subsidiaries intend to build pump storage facilities on the vast amounts of cleared land they have available as part of a significant diversification strategy. Highly placed sources claim that because the central government is so confident in such projects, the plan to establish such projects in the first phase would be completed in a month.The ambitious objectives of the coal ministry include diversification into alternative energy sources, and through these pump storage projects, it intends to use solar energy to create hydro projects. According to additional sources, the coal ministry wants to construct such projects based on the PSP initiative guidelines that the power ministry released earlier this year.Under it, the CIL and its affiliates will lift it using solar energy by using their shuttered mines' water storage facilities. Over such abandoned mines, reservoirs will be built, where the raised water will be kept. It will utilise the water lifted by solar radiation during the night to produce hydro energy. "We need to establish over ground reservoirs on such mines even when we have decorated land where there are subsurface water reservoirs. For this, arrangements are being made. The first phase plan will be available to PSPs in a month. We intend to make a huge effort to pursue it, a ministry source said.In accordance with PSP, all coal mines with water present and coal removed will be converted into reservoirs after a feasibility analysis, and reservoirs will also be built above them. According to the source, we will use solar energy to lift subsurface water and store it in above-ground reservoirs. At night, we will produce hydro energy to power the turbine.
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