India’s leading steelmaker JSW Steel Limited has announced plans to set up a scrap processing facility in Chennai, located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, as part of its strategy to increase the use of recycled materials in steel production and lower its carbon footprint.
According to a company statement on Friday, October 24, the new facility will recycle scrap from multiple sources, including automobiles and end-of-life goods, for use at its steelmaking plants. The processed scrap will primarily be supplied to JSW’s Vijayanagar mill in Karnataka and its upcoming steel plant in Kadappa, Andhra Pradesh.
Strengthening domestic scrap supply chain and circular economy
The Chennai unit will complement a similar metal recycling plant under construction at Raigad, Maharashtra, operated by JSW’s wholly-owned subsidiary NSL Green Steel Recycling.
“We already have an ecosystem to source steel scrap. We have established a scrap supply chain in western India, and a similar network will now be set up in the south,” a JSW official said.
Last fiscal year, JSW Steel sourced about 2.25 million mt of scrap from the western region, with volumes continuing to grow steadily. Currently, the company procures only ready-to-use scrap, but once the Chennai facility becomes operational, JSW plans to process lower-grade scrap that requires cleaning and treatment before being used in steel production.
The new plant marks another step in JSW Steel’s strategic vision to enhance sustainability by expanding its domestic recycling network and increasing the share of scrap-based steelmaking within its operations.