JSW Group to deploy Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic Heater technology across the steel & cement business.
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.
