Jindal Stainless bets ₹800 crore on green energy to protect crucial EU steel exports from new carbon tariffs
Abhyuday Jindal, managing director at Jindal Stainless, said nearly 65% of the total investment will be towards power purchase agreements (PPAs) for round-the-clock 300MW renewable energy supply. The remaining 35% investment will be for captive solar projects for power and green hydrogen generation.
New Delhi: With the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) set for full rollout in January, Jindal Stainless Ltd is racing to shield its exports from the looming carbon cost curve. The country’s largest stainless steelmaker is investing ₹700-800 crore from internal resources into renewable power and green hydrogen, aiming to cut embedded emissions and stay aligned with Europe’s tightening sustainability norms.
CBAM is a tariff that will require importers to pay for the carbon emitted in making goods overseas, effectively extending Europe’s carbon pricing system to foreign producers. It poses a compliance test for Indian steelmakers, who still rely heavily on coal-based production.
With around half the earmarked investments already made, Jindal Stainless achieved around 14% lower CO₂ emissions in FY25 compared to the previous year.
Focus on renewable power, green hydrogen
Abhyuday Jindal, managing director at Jindal Stainless, said nearly 65% of the total investment will be towards power purchase agreements (PPAs) for round-the-clock 300MW renewable energy supply. The remaining 35% investment will be for captive solar projects for power and green hydrogen generation.
Abhyuday is the grandson of Late Om Prakash Jindal, the founder of the Jindal Group. Abhyuday’s father, Ratan, is the chairman of Jindal Stainless. His cousins include Parth Jindal, son of JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal, and Venkatesh, son of Jindal Steel Ltd chairman Naveen Jindal. Parth and Venkatesh Jindal are also actively involved in their family businesses.
Across its two manufacturing units, the company's investments will also be split in a 65-35 ratio, with more going towards the Jajpur-oriented projects and the rest for the Hisar ones. Of the planned expenditure, around 50% has been made in captive solar capacities across Hisar and Jajpur with PPAs.
“The remaining amount is planned to be invested over next 3-4 years for additional augmentation of our 'round-the-clock' renewable power capacity and for increased production of green hydrogen at our sites," Jindal said. “Every month, more renewable capacity is being added," he said, adding that the company is “as ready as possible".
Jindal, however, flagged the issue of India’s grid-level dependence on fossil fuels remaining a structural constraint. While European producers operate within grids powered substantially by renewables, India’s power mix remains dominated by coal.
The EU is one of the top export markets for Indian steel and stainless steel makers. For Jindal Stainless, the bloc accounts for 40% of its exports and nearly 4% of its sales volume. In the quarter ended 30 June, Jindal Stainless' exports were 9% of its total volumes. The company's total sales were at 626,252 tonnes during the quarter, up 8.3% from a year ago.
Jindal said his company is studying its customers and competition. To be in sync with EU audit and sustainability requirements, Jindal Stainless has roped in international consultants for facility audit and certification, and has already onboarded London-based ERM.
“One of the partners is ERM, who we have roped in to execute a long-term sustainability transformation journey. We are also working with other consultants when it comes to specific activities relating to CBAM, such as formulation of sales strategy in light of taxation," the managing director said.
topics
