EAF-Scrap Versus BF-BOF: The Full Cost Comparison for India’s Next Wave of Steel Capacity — Capex, Opex, Carbon Cost, and CBAM Liability at Current Prices | Reclimatize.in
A new BF-BOF integrated plant requires approximately Rs 8,400 to Rs 10,000 crore per million tonne per year of liquid steel capacity. A greenfield EAF-scrap plant requires approximately Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000 crore per Mtpa — Tata Steel Ludhiana was commissioned at Rs 3,200 crore for 0.75 Mtpa, confirming the lower end. At current input prices — imported shredded scrap at approximately $340–380 per tonne CFR Nhava Sheva and domestic HMS at Rs 27,000–33,000 per tonne — EAF operating costs and BF-BOF operating costs overlap in the Rs 36,000–46,000 per tonne range. Scrap availability and price is the primary variable that determines which route wins on operating cost in any given quarter. But on carbon cost, CCTS CCC revenue, and CBAM liability, EAF-scrap wins decisively: BF-BOF at India’s sector average 2.36 tCO₂/t faces Rs 5,000/t in CBAM certificate costs at EU ETS €65 in 2026; EAF-scrap at 0.3 tCO₂/t faces effectively zero CBAM liability. This article builds the full comparison from current, verified numbers — and specifies at what scrap price the EAF advantage disappears.