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THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 17, 2025
ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) has emerged as a national leader in industrial energy innovation, winning the prestigious Best Innovator Award at the National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2025. The honour, instituted by the Ministry of Power and implemented by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), recognises outstanding contributions to energy efficiency and sustainable industrial practices.
The award was jointly conferred by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and the Union Minister of Power, Manohar Lal, at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, as part of the National Energy Conservation Day 2025 celebrations. Representing AM/NS India, Baiju Masrani, Chief of Hot Metal Delivery at the company’s Hazira plant in Gujarat, received the award.
Among the highest national recognitions for energy efficiency, the NECA honours achievements across seven categories. AM/NS India was selected in the Energy Efficiency Innovation – Industry category for its Steel Making Plant-2 (SMP-2) project at the Hazira facility, underscoring the company’s leadership in decarbonising steel production through cutting-edge operational innovation.
The award-winning SMP-2 project focuses on optimising the CONARC furnace, a sophisticated hybrid of Electric Arc Furnace and Basic Oxygen Furnace technologies that uses hot metal, Direct Reduced Iron and scrap. Given the high energy intensity of the process, AM/NS India introduced advanced enhancements to the Electrode Regulation System by integrating Programmable Logic Controller-based automation and Auto Arc Length control. This enabled real-time arc adjustments and improved electrode positioning, resulting in more stable operations and a significant reduction in electrical energy consumption.
The innovation has delivered tangible and measurable benefits, including annual power savings exceeding 56,400 megawatt-hours, a reduction of nearly 41,700 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year, and a two percent increase in furnace productivity through faster turnaround times. These gains translate into both environmental impact and operational excellence, reinforcing the company’s commitment to sustainable growth.
This milestone aligns closely with AM/NS India’s long-term decarbonisation roadmap and India’s national ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Guided by its promise of “Smarter Steels, Brighter Futures,” the company continues to demonstrate how technological advancement and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
The Best Innovator Award at NECA 2025 stands as a defining moment in AM/NS India’s sustainability journey, reaffirming its role as a torchbearer for energy efficiency, low-carbon manufacturing and future-ready steelmaking in India.
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