Essar creates new unit to drive $3.6 billion low-carbon plan in UK, India

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Essar Group said on Monday it has created a new entity that will control its various businesses and drive $3.6 billion worth of low carbon projects in UK and India over the next five years.

Essar, built by billionaire brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, sold some of its Indian assets in telecom, oil refining and steel over the years to settle its huge debt.

It has also turned its focus on creating new environmental, social and governance compliant businesses to cut emissions from existing projects.

Essar Energy Transition (EET), the new unit that will control its various business, would invest $2.4 billion across its site at Stanlow, between Liverpool and Manchester and $1.2 billion in India for developing low carbon energy transition projects, the statement said.

Through its investment in the UK, EET hopes to cut around 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide - nearly a fifth of the total industrial emissions in North West England, Essar said.

EET will include Essar's blue hydrogen, low carbon biofules and green ammonia businesses and its Stanlow refinery, terminal and marketing operations.

Essar, which is developing 1 GW of green ammonia in India for sale in UK and international markets, said it is also creating a liquefied natural gas value chain in India, including LNG truck manufacturing and LNG fuel stations, setting up a pellet plant in eastern India and a 4-million tonnes-per-annum green steel complex at Ras-Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)