JSW Group, a major player in the Indian steel industry, has established a strategic collaboration with Coolbrook, a technology and engineering company based in Finland. The partnership aims to implement Coolbrook's RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) technology at JSW's manufacturing facilities in Vijayanagar Works, with the primary objective of reducing CO2 emissions in steel and cement production. The agreement was formalized and signed by P.K Murugan, President of JSW Steel Vijayanagar and Salem Works, and Joonas Rauramo, CEO of Coolbrook, during a ceremony held at JSW's Toranagal plant in Ballari district.

"The partnership between Coolbrook and JSW Group follows Coolbrook’s successful completion of the first phase of its large-scale pilot tests for RotoDynamic Technology on the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in the Netherlands in 2023. The tests demonstrated the technology’s heat-generating capabilities, surpassing the temperature of 1000° C significantly above the range of conventional resistive heaters and proving the technology’s capability to reach temperatures up to 1700° C, essential for the highest temperatures required in steel production", JSW and Coolbrook said in a joint press release.

Under the terms of the agreement, both firms will work together to develop a roadmap focused on achieving low-carbon production. This collaboration aims to implement the RDH technology gradually across JSW's steel and cement manufacturing processes. Mr. Murugan emphasized that JSW Group has set ambitious sustainability goals, aligning its CO2 emission reduction targets with the International Energy Agency's sustainable development scenario and India's Nationally Determined Contributions.

"Deployment of RDH technology is expected to have a sizeable impact on the decarbonization of the group’s manufacturing process. We are happy to have Coolbrook onboard as a partner on our journey to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve our climate targets", Mr. Murugan further added. Mr. Rauramo said that Coolbrook’s pilot test results have already proven the capabilities of its technology and deployment of RotoDynamic Heater technology in JSW Steel’s production will demonstrate the impact of electrification with clean energy in steel manufacturing processes.

"Our patented electric technology enables significant decarbonization in steel production by reducing the need to burn fossil fuels. We are delighted to welcome JSW Steel to our partner network as a forerunner in the steel industry to start the implementation of Coolbrook’s revolutionary technology enabling a clean new industrial era", he further added. According to information from the companies, the RDH technology makes use of renewable electricity to drive high-temperature industrial processes, thereby substantially decreasing the reliance on fossil fuel combustion. Specifically designed for the steel manufacturing sector, the technology focuses on decarbonizing the traditional production processes involving blast furnaces and the direct reduction of iron.