JSW and Coolbrook ink strategic cooperation agreement for industrial electrification technology to drive decarbonisation
The Coolbrook and JSW signing ceremony (from left to right): Lauri Peltola, Chief Commercial Officer, Coolbrook; Joonas Rauramo, Chief Executive Officer, Coolbrook; PK Murugan, President – JSW Steel Vijayanagar & Salem Works; LR Singh – Chief Operations Officer (COO), JSW Steel Vijayanagar Works
For further information, please contact:
Coolbrook
Jenni Schumacher
SVP, Communications, Brand & Marketing
jenni.schumacher@coolbrook.com
mobile +358 50 554 6810
JSW Group to deploy Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic Heater technology across the steel & cement business.
Mumbai, Ballari, Helsinki, 11 January 2024
JSW Group, India’s leading and fastest expanding US$ 23 billion diversified business conglomerate, has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Coolbrook, a transformational technology and engineering company headquartered in Finland. This strategic partnership will focus on implementing Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic Heater™ (RDH™) Technology at JSW’s manufacturing sites at Vijayanagar Works in Karnataka, India, with the primary goal of achieving low-CO2 emissions in steel and cement production.
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 at 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.
The joint initiative encompasses the planning and execution of a commercial demonstration project at the Vijayanagar Works, showcasing RDH™ technology. As part of the agreement, both companies will collaboratively devise a roadmap aimed at achieving low-carbon production, facilitating the phased rollout of RDH™ Technology of JSW Steel & Cement manufacturing processes.
PK Murugan, President – JSW Steel Vijayanagar & Salem Works signed the agreement on behalf of JSW and stated, “JSW Group has set ambitious sustainability targets of reducing its specific CO2 emissions, aligning with the Sustainable Development Scenario of the International Energy Agency and India’s Nationally Determined Contributions. Deployment of RDH™ Technology is expected to have a sizeable impact on the decarbonisation of the Group’s manufacturing process. We are happy to onboard Coolbrook as a partner on our journey to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve our climate targets.”
Joonas Rauramo, CEO, Coolbrook, said: “Coolbrook’s pilot test results have already proven the capabilities of our 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.”
RDH™ technology utilises renewable electricity to power high-temperature industrial processes in e.g. steel and cement production, significantly reducing the need to burn fossil fuels. In steel manufacturing, the technology targets the decarbonisation of manufacturing processes in traditional Blast Furnaces and the Direct Reduction of Iron (DRI) based production of iron and steel. This collaboration supports JSW Steel’s commitment to accelerating decarbonisation and achieving the company’s Net Zero aspirations.
Coolbrook’s RDH™ Technology has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions in heavy industries by 30%, equivalent to more than 2.4 billion tons annually, by replacing the burning of fossil fuels with electrification powered by renewable energy. The technology has two main applications: electrifying and decarbonising high-temperature process heating in the production of e.g., cement, steel and iron, and chemicals, and replacing fossil-fuel-fired steam crackers in petrochemical industry to reach 100% CO2 free olefin production. Both technologies have been successfully tested at Coolbrook’s large-scale pilot plant in 2023 and are on track for commercial launch starting in 2024.
About JSW Steel:
- JSW Steel is the flagship business of the diversified, US$ 23 billion JSW Group. As one of India’s leading business houses, JSW Group also has interests in energy, infrastructure, cement, paints, sports, and venture capital.
- Over the last three decades, JSW Steel has grown from a single manufacturing unit to become India’s leading integrated steel company with a capacity of 29.7 MTPA in India and the USA. Its next phase of growth in India will take its total capacity to 38.5 MTPA by FY25. The Company’s manufacturing unit in Vijayanagar, Karnataka is the largest single location steel-producing facility in India with current capacity of 12.5 MTPA.
- JSW Steel has always been at the forefront of research and innovation. It has a strategic collaboration with global leader, JFE Steel of Japan, enabling JSW to access new and state-of-the-art technologies to produce and offer high-value special steel products to its customers. These products are extensively used across industries and applications including construction, infrastructure, automobile, electrical applications, and appliances.
- JSW Steel is widely recognized for its excellence in business and sustainability practices. Some of these recognitions include World Steel Association’s Steel Sustainability Champion (consecutively from 2019 to 2023), Leadership Rating (A) in CDP climate change disclosure (2022), Deming Prize for TQM for its facilities at Vijayanagar (2018), and Salem (2019). It was now part of the part of the World Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and for Emerging Markets during 2023 and included in the S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook (consecutively from 2020 to 2023).
- JSW Steel’s SEED project has been awarded with “Energy Transition Changemaker” at COP28.
- In December 2023, JSW Steel was ranked 8th among the top 35 world-class steelmakers, according to the ‘World-Class Steelmaker Rankings’ by World Steel Dynamics (WSD), based on a variety of factors.
- As a responsible corporate citizen, JSW Steel’s CO2 emission reduction goals are aligned with India’s Climate Change commitments under the Paris Accord.
- JSW Steel aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 42% from its steel-making operations and achieve net zero CO2 emissions at its subsidiary, JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd by 2030. JSW Steel aims to lead the energy transition by powering steel-making operations entirely by renewable energy by 2030.
- Other sustainability targets include achieving no-net loss in biodiversity at the operating sites by 2030, substantially improving air quality and reducing water consumption in all operations and maintaining Zero Liquid Discharge.
- JSW Steel has emerged as an organisation with a strong cultural foundation. It is certified by Great Places to Work (2021, 2022 and 2023) as well as ranked as one of the Best Employers among Nation Builders (2023).
Read more details on JSW Steel
About Coolbrook:
Coolbrook is a transformational technology and engineering company on a mission to decarbonise major industrial sectors such as petrochemicals and chemicals, iron and steel, and cement. Coolbrook’s revolutionary rotating technology combines space science, turbomachinery, and chemical engineering to replace the burning of fossil fuels across all major industrial sectors. The technology has two main applications: RotoDynamic Reactor (RDR) to electrify steam cracking and reach 100% CO2-free olefin production, and RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) to provide carbon-free process heating to iron and steel, cement, pulp and paper, and chemicals and petrochemicals production. Once implemented at scale, Coolbrook’s technology has the potential to reach temperatures of 1700°C and cut 2.4 billion tons (30%) of annual CO2 emissions in heavy industry. In 2022, Coolbrook was named Tech Champion 2022 in the Manufacturing category by The Financial Times.
Read more details on Coolbrook
For Further Information Please Contact:
| JSW Group Corporate Communications | ||
| Frederick Castro Mobile: +91 99206 65176 frederick.castro@jsw.in | Jitendra Vashistha Mobile: +91 9480694494 jitendra.vashistha@jsw.in | Ishani Singh Mobile: +91 98890 01091 ishani.singh@jsw.in |
| Coolbrook Communications |
| Jenni Schumacher SVP – Communications, Brand & Marketing Mobile: +358 50 554 6810 jenni.schumacher@coolbrook.com |
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.
Joonas Rauramo
CEO, Coolbrook