Tata Steel has signed a contract with Tenova, solutions provider for the metals and mining industry, for the latter to supply an electric arc furnace at Tata’s Port Talbot plant in Wales, weeks after the steelworks ended blast furnace-based production.
When it comes online it is expected to be the biggest of its kind in the world, melting mostly scrap to produce 3Mt of new steel a year.
The core of the new production line is Tenova’s Electric Arc Furnace equipped with its Consteel® Continuous Charging System and Electromagnetic Stirring System (EMS), which enables a production rate of 450 tonnes/hour. The supply also includes two ladle furnaces of the same capacity, a fume treatment plant, and a material handling system. Additionally, Tenova will provide an engineering and assistance package to support Tata Steel UK throughout the construction and startup phases of the entire new production line.
The new EAF-based equipment is designed to integrate into the existing downstream facilities, including the continuous casting plant while upgrading production capabilities and environmental performance. It will be installed in the buildings currently housing the BOF (Basic Oxygen Furnace) converters, which will be removed.
Backed by the funding, and when it is commissioned from the end of 2027, the electric arc furnace will reduce the site's steelmaking carbon emissions by 90%, equivalent to 5Mt of carbon dioxide a year, Tata Steel has said.
“[This announcement] marks an important milestone in making low-CO₂ steelmaking a reality in Port Talbot as well as reducing the UK’s carbon emissions and supporting our customers with their own carbon reduction targets.”
T V Narendran, CEO and managing director of Tata Steel Limited
T V Narendran, CEO and managing director of Tata Steel Limited, said: “[This announcement] marks an important milestone in making low-CO₂ steelmaking a reality in Port Talbot as well as reducing the UK’s carbon emissions and supporting our customers with their own carbon reduction targets.”
''We are very proud to become part of the Port Talbot steelmaking history and contribute to a project so important to Tata Steel group and the local communities.”
Paolo Argenta, executive vice-president for the Tenova upstream business unit
"We have been working with Tata Steel UK since spring 2022 building a solid technical and personal relationship. We are very proud to become part of the Port Talbot steelmaking history and contribute to a project so important to Tata Steel group and the local communities,” said Paolo Argenta, executive vice-president for the Tenova upstream business unit.