India's steel and metals sector is central to the country's growth agenda — steel is the material of infrastructure, housing, and manufacturing. At 125 MT/year production, India is the world's second-largest steel producer and is growing at 6–7% annually. The sector emits approximately 280 MT of CO₂ per year — representing about 11% of India's total emissions — from blast furnace (BF-BOF) operations, coal-based direct reduction (DRI-EAF), and associated power and utilities.
India's steel CCUS challenge is complicated by a production structure unique globally: India produces approximately 45 MT/year of DRI using coal-based rotary kiln gasification — a route with high CO₂ intensity and no existing commercial CCUS integration precedent anywhere in the world. NCM is conducting the world's first systematic feasibility assessment for coal-DRI CCUS, working with leading DRI producers to develop site-specific capture designs.
Annual steel production — world's 2nd largest, growing 6–7%/yr
Sector CO₂/year — 11% of India's total emissions
Coal-DRI production — unique globally, no existing CCUS precedent
Estimated annual CBAM liability on steel exports to EU by 2030
BF-BOF plants — operated by SAIL, Tata Steel, and JSW — can apply post-combustion capture to blast furnace top gas (20–25% CO₂) and BOF off-gas (up to 45% CO₂). The higher concentration of BOF gas significantly reduces the energy penalty vs. coal power PCC. Gas-based DRI (Midrex/HYL) plants apply PCC to shaft furnace off-gas — a well-characterised route with HBIS Midrex pilot data from China. Coal-based DRI (rotary kiln) represents India's unique CCUS challenge — the mixed CO₂/CO/N₂ flue gas requires tailored capture chemistry that NCM is developing in collaboration with capture technology licensors.
The cluster infrastructure model — shared CO₂ pipelines serving multiple steel plants in the Jharkhand-Odisha-Chhattisgarh belt — can reduce per-tonne CCUS cost by 40–60% for individual plants. NCM is developing this cluster framework drawing directly on the UK's Net Zero Teesside model.
India exports 15–18 MT of steel to the EU annually — the largest CBAM-exposed volume of any Indian industrial sector. Under full CBAM implementation from 2026, Indian steel exporters face carbon costs on the embedded CO₂ in their exports. At EU ETS prices of €60–80/tonne, the annual CBAM liability on Indian steel exports could exceed USD 1 billion by 2030. NCM's CBAM assessments for two major Indian steel exporters have found that CCUS investment pays back within 10 years purely from CBAM liability avoided — without requiring any government subsidy or carbon credit revenue.
India's 2.4 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of BF-BOF steel (50% above the EU average due to coal-heavy energy mix) drives the CBAM liability differential. Reducing this embedded carbon intensity through CCUS is the most commercially compelling case NCM has encountered in any sector — because the payback period is determined by CBAM avoidance revenue alone, making the investment case independent of carbon credit prices or government support.
NCM's steel sector advisory begins with a production route assessment — characterising each plant's BF or DRI configuration, gas composition, thermal integration, and physical site constraints to determine the optimal capture technology. For BF-BOF plants, we draw on Tata Steel IJmuiden and ArcelorMittal Dunkirk experience. For coal-DRI, we apply our own proprietary world-first feasibility assessment. CBAM liability quantification, technology selection, site-specific feasibility, and finance structuring are delivered as an integrated advisory package.
NCM is also developing India's first steel CCUS cluster — shared CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure for the Jharkhand-Odisha-Chhattisgarh steel belt. This cluster approach, modelled on Net Zero Teesside, could reduce per-tonne CCUS cost by 40–60% and represents the most commercially viable pathway for rapid deployment across India's steel sector.
Whether you are a government body seeking policy advice, an industrial company facing CBAM exposure, or an investor seeking CCUS project opportunities — our team is ready to engage.