INTERVIEW: India's JSW Energy eyes export markets for fly ash amid sustainability push

As the cement industry prioritizes sustainability and decarbonization, and with the upcoming carbon border adjustment mechanism expected to increase demand for supplementary cementitious materials, or SCMs, India's JSW Energy is committed to investing in meeting the export demand for fly ash, Gautam Jain, vice president of coal/fly ash at JSW Energy, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in an interview.

"CBAM is definitely an opportunity for us to capture," Jain said. "As we understand, most European companies are currently trying to use reclaimed ash and not importing it, but reclaiming ash has its own challenges, and we anticipate that imports will grow once suitable port infrastructure to handle dry Fly Ash is established in Europe."

The implementation of CBAM will create a strong economic incentive to shift toward SCMs, and later in the decade, toward decarbonated clinker, according to London-based On Field Investment Research. "Securing long-term access to cost-effective SCMs is becoming a key strategic priority for cement producers," On Field Research said in a presentation during an industry conference in October.

JSW Energy operates a 1,200-MW power plant in Jaigarh (west coast of India), generating approximately 300,000-500,000 metric tons of fly ash annually, depending on the coal source, Jain said. Currently, about 50% of this is supplied locally, but the company aims to shift part of that to more profitable export markets, he added.

"On the west coast of India, we have a flourishing domestic market, but we want to increase our exports. Our silo, having a capacity of 45,000 mt, was built in 2021 specifically to target the overseas market. The silo is situated at [the] Jaigarh port, which has a 13 m draft and can load vessels up to 60,000 mt," Jain explained. "Our loading rate is our unique selling proposition, as we can load 7,000-10,000 mt/d in bulk, resulting in significant freight savings and competitive CFR costs."

"We also have a bagging plant and can load up to 3,000 mt/d in jumbo bags in break bulk. We currently export approximately 150,000 mt to Saudi Arabia annually. If we receive more export orders, we can consider reducing the domestic allocation further and focus more on exports," Jain said.

The company also aims to enter the UK and US markets, which have established logistical infrastructure for importing fly ash, he added.

"But currently it seems they are focusing on cement in those terminals, so we are being patient till that huge market opens up," Jain said.

JSW aims to serve these markets from their current assets, Jain said, but going forward, they are also prepared to commit $30 million-$40 million to develop similar assets on the east coast of India.

"We are ready to invest, provided we have a customer base in the US and [the] UK. Financial capital is not a constraint for JSW Energy; we simply need to ensure that the destinations are ready to receive shipments of this size. We believe we are ahead of the curve," Jain said.

The company already has two thermal power plants near the east coast of India, which can supply nearly 1 million mt of fly ash annually, Jain said.

"And the new asset can be ready within 1.5-2 years ... but we need to see the buy-side infrastructure develop simultaneously along with a set of committed buyers," Jain added.

Platts assessed the weekly CEMDEX Turkey price at $55/mt FOB on Nov. 6