India-Australia Breakthrough: Rice Husk Pellets Slash Steel Emissions in World-First Trial

• An India-Australia research partnership successfully trialed rice husk pellets to partially replace coal in steelmaking.
• Scientists from CSIRO and IISc conducted the commercial-scale trial at Jindal Steel and Power Limited in Odisha.
• The trial blended 5-10% rice husk pellets with coal in commercial gasifiers, achieving sustained production without performance loss.
• This "world-first" demonstration offers a pathway to significantly reduce emissions from the carbon-intensive steel industry.
• Researchers estimate widespread adoption of biomass-based processes could cut India's steel industry emissions by up to 50%.