Tata Steel Goes Green: Pioneers Game-Changing Hydrogen Trial in Steel Production

India: Tata Steel, the renowned Indian Steelmaker, announced on Monday that it has initiated a ground-breaking trial of continuously injecting a substantial quantity of Hydrogen gas at one of its major plants. This world-first trial is a part of Tata Steel's strategic plan to curtail coke consumption and minimize Carbon Dioxide emissions.

The trial involves injecting an unprecedentedly high volume of Hydrogen gas, which is planned to run for a few days. The Hydrogen gas will be injected into the blast furnace using 40% of its injection systems at Jamshedpur Works. If successful, this revolutionary trial could decrease the coke rate by up to 10%, leading to a 7-10% reduction of CO₂ emissions per ton of crude Steel fabricated.

Tata Steel is working towards their vision of achieving NetZero by 2045, as part of their efforts to become an industry leader in sustainability. It is a challenging pursuit, especially for the steel-making industry, as it heavily relies on non-renewable sources of energy like fossil fuels. However, Tata Steel is determined to reduce emissions and find alternative ways to achieve their goal.

In 2020, H2 Green Steel, a Swedish company, set out with a distinct objective to accelerate the Steel industry's decarbonization process by utilizing clean Hydrogen. The company's founder and primary shareholder is Vargas, who is also a co-founder of Northvolt, a Swedish battery manufacturer.

H2 Green Steel is in the process of developing its first green Steel facility in Boden, northern Sweden, which is anticipated to produce five million tons of greenhouse gas-free Steel by 2030. The plant's operations will be fuelled by a renewable energy-powered green Hydrogen plant, one of the largest in the world. In contrast to conventional Steel manufacturing procedures, which emit substantial CO₂ emissions, the primary by-product of the Boden facility will be pure water, showcasing an eco-friendlier alternative.