Tata Steel UK, subsidiary of Indian steel producer Tata Steel, and the UK government have agreed on a joint investment for the decarbonization of the company’s Port Talbot plant, according to the company’s statement.
The government will provide funding of £500 million, which is one of the largest government support packages in history, for the investment of a total of £1.25 billion for a new electric arc furnace for green steel production at the plant, replacing blast furnaces. With the government intervention, it is expected that the project has the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the UK.
The transition to sustainable steelmaking at Port Talbot is also expected to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by seven percent and the Port Talbot site’s emissions by 85 percent.
The two blast furnaces at the Port Talbot plant, which are approaching end of life, annually produce around 3.6 million mt of liquid steel.