What have secondary steel MSMEs actually saved from energy efficiency upgrades?

TERI studied 60 secondary steel MSMEs in 2023-25: 21 DRI plants, 14 induction furnace units and 25 rerolling mills. It found 27,596 toe a year of savings, and the measures units actually put in now save 16,460 t of coal, 8,100 MWh and 35,100 t CO2 a year.

Found versus done

The 27,596 toe is what audits identified; the coal, power and CO2 figures are what has been implemented and checked in follow up surveys. Coal is the larger prize: 16,460 t of coal carries more than five times the CO2 of 8,100 MWh at today's factors. In a coal heavy plant, start with the furnace and the kiln, then the motors.

Five measures TERI reported, with paybacks

• Recuperator on an 8 t an hour coal reheating furnace, Raipur: 376 t coal a year for Rs 8.5 lakh; under three months.
• Continuous caster with hot charging in place of ingots and reheating, Raipur: 1,500 t coal a year for Rs 400 lakh; about 2.5 years.
• Scrap shearing before induction melting, Raipur: 40.1 lakh kWh a year for Rs 180 lakh; nine months.
• New 12 t induction furnace in place of one at 842 kWh per tonne, Raipur: 14.4 lakh kWh for Rs 180 lakh; 2.1 years.
• One efficient centrifugal blower in place of two old positive displacement blowers on a mini blast furnace, Rourkela: 4.27 lakh kWh for Rs 50 lakh; under two years.

What TERI's support covered

• Baseline energy studies and equipment performance checks.
• Measures ranked with costs and benefits.
• Vendor matching and help with specifications.
• Post implementation surveys measuring the actual saving.

Turning a saving into finance and CBAM evidence

Each of these cases rests on before and after figures per tonne. Coal savings in DRI kilns and reheating furnaces also lower direct emissions, the part CBAM counts for iron and steel goods; electricity savings lower your footprint but not the CBAM figure. Keep the invoices and production logs behind both.

The 60 units' implemented savings at Senseible factors (estimate)

• Coal: 16,460 t x 1.76 kg per kg = 28,970 t CO2
• Electricity: 8,100 MWh x 0.675 = 5,468 t CO2
• Total: about 34,440 t a year, close to TERI's 35,100 t
• Coal share: 84% of the CO2 cut

Figures from the SAMEEEKSHA newsletter, June 2026 (TERI). Units are not named in the source. Indian coal 1.76 kg CO2 per kg; CEA FY 2025-26 grid factor.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads coal invoices and power bills into monthly CO2 per tonne, with direct fuel apart from electricity, so a measured saving is ready for a green loan file or an EU buyer.

• Check green loan readiness
• Recuperator on a coal reheating furnace
• Continuous casting and hot charging
• Raipur secondary steel CBAM exposure

Sources: SAMEEEKSHA newsletter, June 2026: secondary steel case studies (TERI).pdf), Regulation (EU) 2023/956 establishing CBAM, consolidated

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.