Indian-owned Tata Steel, transitioning for
greener production, will impact up to 2,800 among 8,000 employees in the United
Kingdom. The company has confirmed closure of two high-emission blast furnaces
and coke ovens in a phased manner at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales this
year.
The revolutionary move in achieving
sustainable growth is taken after the PM Rishi Sunak-led UK Government provided
fund of £500 million for the production of “greener” steel at the country’s
biggest steelworks.
The decision “is difficult”, mentioned Tata
Steel chief executive TV Narendran, but they believe the ambitious plan taken in
more than a decade will guarantee “long-term, high-quality steel production” and
transform the Port Talbot unit into “one of Europe’s premier centres for green
steelmaking”.
Port Talbot steelworks is single biggest
carbon emitter the UK. British Steel and Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Steel
had been seeking to replace dirty blast furnaces run by Chinese group Jingye
and thus demanded government aid to help decarbonise production and cut
emissions.
Offering its assistance, the UK Government
said replacing the coal-powered blast furnaces would mitigate carbon emissions
by about 1.5 per cent.
Green hydrogen is expected to achieve
the desired goal but producing it in huge quantities need significant
investment amid escalating energy prices in the wake of Ukraine-Russia conflict.
