Indian steel industry professional Karan Pahuja talks about enhancing the sustainability of stainless steel and the current trends shaping the stainless steel industry, in the concluding part of the two-part interview series.
Karan Pahuja comes with over 40 years of experience in the steel and stainless steel industries in areas of operations, market development and policy making. He has been President of Indian Stainless-Steel Development Association, where he led efforts for promotion and growth of Indian stainless-steel industry. During his tenure, stainless steel consumption in India grew by almost 40 per cent to reach about 4 MT and India emerged as the fastest growing stainless-steel market in the world.
Earlier, he was Executive Director at Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) where he was part of corporate operations. He is a mechanical engineer from BITS Pilani and MBA from FMS, Delhi University. He has been a senior assessor for CII-EXIM Bank Business Excellence Award and has been advising many companies on their journey towards excellence and change management. He has also been a guest faculty for Strategic Management at IIFT Delhi.
Excerpts from his interview…
What steps are taken to minimise the environmental impact of stainless-steel manufacturing?
Stainless steel is the most recycled material with about 85 per cent production coming from recycled scrap (as per WorldStainless). It, therefore, contributes a lot to the circular economy. Therefore, scope 1 emissions for stainless steel produced by electric route are normally low. Scope 2 emissions, which represent indirect emissions from purchased electricity, can be reduced by improving the mix of renewable energy in procurement. It is Scope 3 emissions, associated with production and transportation of ferro alloys and other raw materials, that need more research and attention. Some of these raw materials are also imported, making their accounting even more difficult. The industry is working on all the three fronts to reduce emissions footprint. All stainless steels still in use represent a valuable resource of potentially recyclable raw material for future, with favorable environmental impact. I think stainless steel may achieve carbon neutrality much before the national commitment of 2070.
What current trends are shaping the stainless-steel market?
Stainless steel market is now moving from just considering stainless steel for aesthetics to exploiting all its properties, particularly its strength. Greater government thrust on building sustainable infrastructure has given a new impetus to the stainless steel market in the construction sector. Stainless steel reinforcement bars and stainless-steel structural demand is rising faster than other segments. Vande Bharat trains and railway station redevelopment are really big market opportunities for the stainless steel industry. Increase in urbanisation to build sustainable city infrastructure is also driving the stainless steel market. As a result of continuous customer and stakeholder education over the years, there is greater awareness of stainless as a very durable material with high corrosion and wear resistance with minimal maintenance over its service life.
What sectors or industries are driving the most demand for stainless steel products?
As stated above, sustainable infrastructure and construction may drive most demand for stainless steel going forward. But other stainless steel consuming segments are also emerging or expanding such as:
- Energy: Renewable energy and green hydrogen applications
- Urban development: Metro rails, smart cities, water management
- Farm and food: Food storage and processing, dairy and fisheries
- Process Industries: Pharma, ethanol blending, specialty chemicals
- Defense and aerospace: Space programme, marine applications
What measures are required to increase the use of stainless steel across industries?
The single biggest tool for increasing use of stainless steel is adoption of the concept of life cycle cost. Fortunately, this concept is now better understood and applied in many projects’ evaluation. However, an adequate database needs to be created to make calculations easy to facilitate wider adoption of life cycle cost. In addition, the industry needs to build adequate application engineering knowledge and expand design standards for further diversifying stainless steel uses and to be able to penetrate new market segments.
Can you discuss any strategies you use to stay competitive in the market?
Traditionally we talk of being quality and cost competitive within the industry but in case of stainless steel it has other dimensions as well. Since stainless steel is relatively costly due to presence of the alloying elements, it has to prove its competitiveness with respect to other competing materials as well. This requires lots of diverse application data to convince the end users. So, competitiveness for stainless steel is a wider concept, which cuts across industries and disciplines.
What advice would you give to someone entering the stainless-steel industry?
My advice is: enter the stainless steel industry only if you are really passionate about it and have faith in its sterling qualities. Stainless steel has many advantages in terms of environmental protection and sustainability. First, stainless steel is a recyclable metal, which means it can be recycled and reused infinitely without losing its quality and properties. This helps reduce dependence on finite resources and prolongs their useful life, reducing production costs and environmental impact.
In addition, stainless steel materials also have lower energy consumption and lower carbon emissions in the production process, which helps to reduce environmental burden. So, stainless steel should be seen more as a passion or emotion for global well-being and not just a business.
What has been your most rewarding experience in this field?
Some of the milestones for Indian stainless steel have been rewarding and I was fortunate to be part of them. First India overtook Japan in stainless steel production in 2016 and later emerged as the second largest and fastest growing stainless-steel market. Secondly, Indian Railways decided to make only stainless-steel coaches in all the three coach factories in 2017. Then Indian Railways and later NHAI decided to use stainless steel reinforcement bars within a certain distance of the coastline in 2021. These were very significant developments in the growth journey of the Indian stainless-steel industry.
