Tata Steel secures £500 m UK govt grant for green steel initiative at Port Talbot

Tata Steel has secured a £500 million grant from the UK government for the construction of an electric arc furnace at its Port Talbot steel plant in Wales, an initiative aimed at making the UK’s steel industry greener.

The £1.25 billion project to install a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace, the largest steel sector investment in the UK in recent times, will secure about 5,000 jobs at Port Talbot while safeguarding UK’s steel industry, Tata Steel stated in a release.

The company said the electric arc furnace will help reduce carbon emissions at Port Talbot by almost 90 per cent and industrial carbon emissions in the UK as a whole by 8 per cent.

It will also improve the level of steel scrap utilisation in the UK.

Tata Steel will be bearing £750 million of the total investment in the £1.25 billion project. Besides, the company will be utilising its engineering and project capabilities.

Basic engineering works for the project have now been completed while the company will be placing orders for equipment, including the electric arc furnace and laddle metallurgy furnaces soon. 

Besides, the company will be planing orders for a new coil box and crop shear for the hot strip mill and necessary cranes before starting civil and mechanical construction.

Tat steel said it is currently in consultation with local authorities for approval of plans and the commencement of major works.

The company expects all approvals to be ready by November 2024, enabling start of site work by July 2025. 

The EAF is expected to be operational within three years, Tata Steel added.