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Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Industry


Authors : Ashok Agarwal

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 8 - August

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/4sxa7tw5

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26aug1091

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Abstract : Heavy industry — steel, cement, chemicals, and refining — accounts for roughly a quarter to a third of global CO₂ emissions, and its high process temperatures and reaction chemistry (calcination, ore reduction) resist simple electrification or fuel-switching. This paper surveys four decarbonization pathways from a process-engineering standpoint: hydrogen-based direct reduction and combustion, direct electrification of low- and medium-temperature process heat, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and clinker substitution or CO₂ mineralization in cement manufacture. Current technoeconomic benchmarks are compiled for each pathway, including green hydrogen and H₂-DRI-EAF steel cost trajectories, heat pump abatement-cost ranges, capture-route selection criteria, and supplementary cementitious material (SCM) substitution limits, with India-specific policy context under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. A six-point screening framework is proposed to sequence efficiency, electrification, hydrogen, materials substitution, and CCUS investment for a given plant or process line.

References :

  1. MDPI, Modelling Future Pathways for Industrial Process Heat Decarbonisation, 2025. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/23/10812
  2. WRI India, Navigating Industrial Decarbonization in India, Issue Brief 2025. https://wri-india.org/sites/default/files/2026-04/Issue%20Brief%202025_imac.pdf
  3. IECC / Berkeley GSPP, Economic Case for Green Steel Production in India, May 2026. https://iecc.gspp.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IECC-Economic-Case-for-Green-Steel-Production-in-India-Report-May26.pdf
  4. Transition Asia, Green Steel Economics - US Factsheet, 2024 (updated 2025). https://transitionasia.org/green-steel-economics-us-factsheet/
  5. How to Store Electricity, Hydrogen DRI Steel Decarbonization 2026, 2026. https://howtostoreelectricity.com/steel-decarbonization-hydrogen-dri-eaf/
  1. GCCA / ICBC, Country Action on Blended Lower Carbon Cements and SCMs, 2026. https://gccassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ICBC-Country-Action-on-Blended-Cements-and-SCMs-to-Reduce-Clinker-Content-updated.pdf
  2. PatSnap Eureka, Low Carbon Cement Technology 2026, April 2026. https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/low-carbon-cement-technology-2026-patsnap-eureka/
  3. IEA, Transforming Industry through CCUS, 2024. https://www.iea.org/reports/transforming-industry-through-ccus
  4. CATF, The State Industrial Policy Playbook, October 2025. https://www.catf.us/resource/the-state-industrial-policy-playbook-a-policy-guide-for-low-emission-heavy-industry/
  5. McKinsey & Company, Tackling Heat Electrification to Decarbonize Industry, December 2024. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/industrials/our-insights/tackling-heat-electrification-to-decarbonize-industry
  6. CPUC, Decarbonizing Low-Temperature Industrial Heat in the US, 2026. https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/SupDoc/A2209006/8694/585485908.pdf
  7. WRI, 5 Things to Know About Carbon Mineralization, 2023 (updated 2026). https://www.wri.org/insights/carbon-mineralization-carbon-removal
  8. University of Glasgow (eprints), Journal of CO2 Utilization 65, 2022. https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/280136/1/280136.pdf
  9. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, National Green Hydrogen Mission. https://mnre.gov.in/en/national-green-hydrogen-mission/
  10. Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Unlocking India's Green Hydrogen Production Potential, 2026. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=155990&ModuleId=3&reg=3&lang=2
  11. The Industry Outlook, India's Green Hydrogen Capacity Jumps to 8,000 TPA in 2026. https://www.theindustryoutlook.com/manufacturing/news/indias-green-hydrogen-capacity-jumps-to-8000-tonnes-per-year-in-2026-nwid-16862.html
  12. IEA, Levelised Cost of Hydrogen Maps, Data Tools. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/levelised-cost-of-hydrogen-maps

Heavy industry — steel, cement, chemicals, and refining — accounts for roughly a quarter to a third of global CO₂ emissions, and its high process temperatures and reaction chemistry (calcination, ore reduction) resist simple electrification or fuel-switching. This paper surveys four decarbonization pathways from a process-engineering standpoint: hydrogen-based direct reduction and combustion, direct electrification of low- and medium-temperature process heat, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and clinker substitution or CO₂ mineralization in cement manufacture. Current technoeconomic benchmarks are compiled for each pathway, including green hydrogen and H₂-DRI-EAF steel cost trajectories, heat pump abatement-cost ranges, capture-route selection criteria, and supplementary cementitious material (SCM) substitution limits, with India-specific policy context under the National Green Hydrogen Mission. A six-point screening framework is proposed to sequence efficiency, electrification, hydrogen, materials substitution, and CCUS investment for a given plant or process line.

Paper Submission Last Date
30 - September - 2026

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