India's steel ministry has announced its green steel definition, classified under three categories based on the quantity of carbon emissions per tonne of finished steel produced, Kallanish notes.

As per the ministry, steel produced with less than 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) per tonne of finished steel (tfs) will be considered as “green steel”.

The announcement was made at the release of a report entitled “Taxonomy of Green Steel and Stakeholder Consultation on Draft National Mission on Green Steel”, unveiled by steel minister HD Kumaraswamy in New Delhi.

The report aims to help with setting up a clear framework for promoting green technologies adoption in steel production. The move also makes India the very first country to develop a comprehensive green steel definition.

The three categories of green steel will be based on the level of emissions intensity of a steel plant. Steel produced with less than 1.6tCO2e/tfs will be classified as "five-star green-rated steel", the cleanest of the three. 

The second cleanest will be steel produced with 1.6-2.0tCO2e/tfs and will be defined as “four-star green steel”.

While steel produced with emissions between 2-2.2tCO2e/tfs will be classified as "three-star green-rated steel”, the lowest green steel category level.

This threshold will be reviewed by the government every three years. "The greenness of the steel shall be expressed as a percentage, based on how much the steel plant’s emission intensity is lower compared to the 2.2 t-CO2e/tfs threshold," the ministry notes.

Steel ministry secretary Sandeep Poundrik says the government is also currently working on converting these recommendations into a formal green steel mission. The ministry, in conjunction with industry stakeholders, will help in achieving the taxonomy of green steel to reduce the emission intensity of 2.2/tCO2e by 2030, he adds.

In October, Poundrik said India planned on launching a national “green steel mission” by December (see Kallanish passim).