【Needle Coke】India's Rapid Steel Expansion Drives Demand for Needle Coke

Recently, JSW Steel of India and POSCO of South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding at their Mumbai headquarters to cooperate on sustainable steel production and renewable energy in India. The goal is to jointly build an integrated sustainable steel plant with an annual capacity of 5 million tons and explore electric vehicle (EV) battery materials.

India has become the world's second-largest steel producer, and this collaboration reflects the potential seen by South Korean companies in India's urbanization and electric vehicle market development, while India values South Korea's production experience and technological research and development capabilities. Needle coke is an important upstream raw material for graphite electrodes used in short process electric furnace steel, and its demand is increasing year by year.

Several major steel companies in India are currently implementing construction projects to meet the country's growing steel demand, fueled by its large population and increasing consumption. Key steelmakers are accelerating capacity expansion:

1. Tata Steel

By September 2024, Tata Steel plans to begin operations at the No. 2 blast furnace at its Kalinganagar steel plant in Odisha, a 5 million ton/year expansion project. The expansion includes a 6 million ton/year pellet plant, a new cold-rolled mill for automotive and non-automotive sectors, and an upcoming converter steel workshop to increase hot-rolled coil capacity. Following the current phase, Tata Steel intends to increase plant capacity from 8 million tons/year to 13 million tons/year in the third phase of development.

2. JSW Steel

In addition to its collaboration with POSCO, JSW Steel started operations at a 5 million ton/year hot-rolled steel plant in March 2024, followed by the commissioning of a 2.5 million ton/year continuous caster in April. The company also plans to start a sintering plant, as well as a steelmaking workshop equipped with two converters and a capacity of 5 million tons/year by late August. Additionally, JSW Steel has approved plans to expand the capacity of its Dolvi steel plant to 15 million tons/year by the third phase.

3. AM/NS India (ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India)

In April 2024, Danieli Corus secured an order from AM/NS India for a 4 million ton/year pellet plant at its Visakhapatnam site. This is part of an expansion project for the Hazira integrated steel plant, which aims to increase its capacity to 15 million tons/year by 2026. The project will include two additional blast furnaces, a pellet plant, sintering plants, coke ovens, converters, cold-rolling mills, and a hot-rolling plant.

4. JSPL (Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.)

JSPL has commenced commercial production of cold-rolled coils at its integrated cold-rolling plant in July 2024. The company also plans to start additional cold-rolling mills and a galvanized line by the end of 2025. By 2025, JSPL will also begin producing color-coated steel sheets.

5. Lloyds Metals and Energy

Lloyds Metals and Energy plans to significantly expand capacity by adding a 360,000-ton direct reduced iron (DRI) unit and two 30 MW power plants at its Ghugus plant by March 2025. Further expansion includes the construction of a blast furnace, steelmaking shop, and wire rod mills, with a planned comprehensive steel plant in 2028-2029.

According to the Indian government's plan, crude steel capacity is expected to reach 300 million tons by 2030, with production hitting 255 million tons. This will require approximately 150,000 tons of graphite electrodes annually, leading to significant future demand for needle coke from China.

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