Tata Steel signs grid agreement to make its UK project green – EQ
In Short : Tata Steel has signed a grid agreement to make its UK project green. This initiative aims to integrate renewable energy into its operations, highlighting the company’s commitment to sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.
In Detail : Tata Steel UK, National Grid Plc have signed an agreement for turning Port Talbot steel plant into electric arc furnace plant by 2027.
As part of the agreement, the British grid operator will construct a new electrical infrastructure by the end of 2027 that will be able to run the 3.2 million-ton electric arc furnace owned by the Indian business.
According to a statement on the company website, Rajesh Nair, CEO of Tata Steel UK, “This will help us replace our ageing and carbon-intensive blast furnaces with a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace capable of producing our customers’ most demanding steel products.”
One of many large subsidies to keep businesses in Britain, the UK agreed last year to pay up to £500 million ($635 million) to Tata Steel to help the company renovate and maintain the largest steelworks in the nation.
Tata Steel said in April that it will move forward with its £1.25 billion investment to construct the electric arc furnace at Port Talbot. This decision came after months of national talks with UK trade unions, who threatened to take industrial action over anticipated job losses.
The new method is far less labor-intensive than coal-fired furnaces, but it is also much greener.
Tata anticipated that the move will affect 2,500 jobs over the course of the following 18 months.
Industry Minister Alan Mak described the arrangement to power the electric furnace as “another positive step towards securing the future of steelmaking in South Wales and the UK” in the announcement.
