Tata Steel agrees to build power grid for future EAF in Port Talbot

Steelmaker Tata Steel has signed an agreement with British grid operator National Grid to build the energy infrastructure needed to switch its Port Talbot plant to green steel production, Bloomberg reports.

The agreement stipulates that National Grid will build a new power grid capable of supplying power to the company’s 3.2 million tonnes per annum electric arc furnace by the end of 2027.

«his will help us replace our aging and carbon-intensive blast furnaces with a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace capable of producing our customers’ most demanding steel products,» said Rajesh Nair, CEO of Tata Steel UK.

In 2023, the UK has agreed to provide up to £500 million in government support to transform the country’s largest steel plant in Port Talbot and keep it running, one of several significant subsidies designed to persuade companies to stay in the UK.

In April 2024, Tata Steel announced that it would go ahead with its planned £1.25 billion investment in the construction of an electric arc furnace at the plant after months of national discussions with British unions. The company said it would shut down blast furnace No. 5 at the plant by the end of June this year and No. 4 by the end of September.

The steelmaker also expects to place an order for EAF equipment by September this year and start construction of an electric arc furnace by August 2025.