New Delhi/ Mumbai: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) has partnered with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to spearhead the transformative shift towards sustainable infrastructure development by promoting the adoption of steel slag road technology that replaces the usage of natural aggregates with processed steel slag aggregates in road construction. AM/NS India has become the first company in the country to secure the coveted license for steel slag valorisation technology from CSIR – CRRI, a premier national research institution, to produce processed steel slag aggregates for road construction.
AM/NS India has received the ‘Steel Slag Valorization Technology for Development of Processed EAF Steel Slag Aggregates at AM/NS India plant in Hazira for Utilization in Road Construction’certificate of license, which means the company can apply the special technology developed by CSIR-CRRI to scientifically process steel slag aggregates at the flagship plant in Hazira, Gujarat, for their use in road construction.
AM/NS India currently produces specially designed slag under the brand name AM/NS Aakar, which meets the CSIR-CRRI’s stringent technical guidelines, specifications, and quality control measures. Processed steel slag aggregates produced by AM/NS India under technological license have proven to be more durable and cost-effective than natural aggregates typically used in road and highway constructions. AM/ NS India generates about 1.70 million tonnes of steel slag annually, which now can be processed as per the CSIR-CRRI’s technology.
Satish Pandey, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-CRRI and inventor of the technology, said: “The steel slag road technology is a game-changer for India’s road infrastructure The country generates over 19 million tonnes of steel slag annually, and the direct use of untreated steel slag poses a significant risk to the mechanical properties and durability of the steel slag-derived composites. With this license, AM/NS India -which collaborated with us in building India’s first ‘all steel slag road in Hazira – is now being allowed to manufacture, market or sell the specially designed processed steel slag aggregates for road construction.”
Ranjan Dhar, Director and Vice President, Sales & Marketing at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India), said: “We are proud to have received the first license of the technology for steel slag valorization used for conversion of steel slag as road-making aggregates. This achievement builds upon our previous involvement in successfully building what is possibly the world’s first one-kilometre, six-lane road made from steel slag, which was also recognised by the India Book of Records and the Asia Book of Records. This not only reiterates our commitment to contribute to a circular economy by recycling and reusing by-products from our steelmaking operations but also sets a new benchmark.
In recent developments, the world’s first coastal steel slag road was inaugurated in side a private port at Hazira. Another steel slag road ‘NH-53 diamond bourse’ in Surat was also developed, which used AM/NS Aakar’.
Meanwhile, steel slag generation is expected to reach 60 million tonnes by FY 2030 considering the ongoing capacity augmentation in Indian steel plants to produce 300 million tonnes of steel by FY 2030-31. This initiative supports India’s circular economy, which is expected to generate a market value of over $2 trillion and create close to 10 million jobs by 2050.
