India's JSW, South Korea's POSCO to develop 5 mil mt/year steel plant

India's JSW Group and South Korea's POSCO Group plan to set up a 5 million mt/year integrated steel plant in India along with tie-ups in electric vehicles and renewable energy, both groups said Oct. 29.

Both groups signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 21 which outlines "a framework for collaboration in steel, battery materials and renewable energy sectors in India," it said.

POSCO said the integrated steel mill will be built under a first phase with a priority given to the Odisha region, and further expansion plans will be reviewed.

India's steel demand is expected to grow by an average of 7% per year, reaching 190 million mt in 2030, POSCO said, citing data from World Steel Dynamics.

The MOU also covers areas of battery materials related to EVs and renewable energy to meet the needs of the proposed steel plant.

JSW Group plans to establish 200,000 units/year of vehicle output focusing on new energy vehicles under JSW MG Motor India, its joint venture with China's leading automaker SAIC Motor.

JSW Group's units, JSW Energy and JSW Green Mobility, had received approval from the Maharashtra state government in July 2024 to establish battery and EV manufacturing plants in the state.

The agreement is similar to one that POSCO signed with India's Adani Group in 2022 for a "green" integrated steel mill at Mundra, Gujarat.

The MOUs support plans by POSCO to build up areas for eco-friendly steel and battery materials.

As part of its decarbonization efforts, POSCO's steelmaking arm plans to start up a new electric arc furnace at its Gwangyang steelworks over end-2025 to 2026 with a production capacity of 2.5 million mt/year of crude steel.

In India, POSCO Steel's unit, POSCO-Maharashtra, operates a 1.8-million mt/year cold-rolled and galvanized steel mill, and four steel processing centers in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi and Pune.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed battery-grade lithium carbonate at $10,000/mt CIF North Asia and lithium hydroxide at $9,500/mt CIF North Asia on Oct. 28, both unchanged from the prior session.