Tata Steel and Germany’s SMS group sign MoU to collaborate on decarbonisation of steel making process

As part of the MoU, the companies will undertake further technical discussions and initiate actions for conducting a Joint Industrial Demonstration of the EASyMelt technology, developed by SMS group, said a press release.

The demonstration will be executed at ‘E’ Blast Furnace in Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant with an objective to reduce CO2 emission by more than 50% from blast furnace’s baseline operation.

The EASyMelt (electric-assisted syngas smelter) technology is a cutting-edge ironmaking solution that can be implemented in an existing integrated steel plants to accelerate decarbonisation.

The core of the technology utilises blast furnace top gas recycling for syngas production through reforming of coke oven gas.

The resulting syngas is then injected at both shaft and tuyere level, with the gas injected at the tuyere level further being heated using a plasma torch system.

Tata Steel CEO & MD T. V. Narendran said: “Tata Steel is actively looking for solutions to facilitate the transition to green steel production, and thus contribute to a sustainable future. Further, India being the second largest steel producer in the world also places a huge responsibility on large manufacturers like Tata Steel to lead the country’s decarbonisation journey.

“We are delighted to reaffirm our partnership with the SMS group and intend to take this association ahead with a deeper collaboration to access better technologies and processes to reduce our carbon footprint in a meaningful and consistent way.”

SMS group CEO Burkhard Dahmen said, “We are very proud to team up with a major steel producer like Tata Steel, and look forward to our future interactions as well as the possibility of achieving a first joint reference for our EASyMelt technology.”

Dahmen said the collaboration will represent a significant milestone for the decarbonization of existing blast furnace plants worldwide and thus also a significant milestone in the global transformation of steel making.

In November 2022, Tata Steel and SMS group had signed an MoU to strengthen their collaboration on projects and technology related to green steel and decarbonisation.

Tata Steel is prioritising decarbonisation and has set a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045, said the release.

Tata Steel said it successfully carried out trials, earlier this year, for record-high hydrogen gas injection in Blast Furnace-E at its Jamshedpur plant.

“The company is committed to contributing to India's journey towards industrial decarbonisation and has been consistently taking several steps in this regard including conducting a trial of continuous Coal Bed Methane (CBM) injection in early 2022, installation and continuous operation since September 2021 of 5 tonnes per day (TPD) industrial plant for carbon capture and utilisation from blast furnace off-gas, reducing freshwater consumption, developing sustainable supply chains, and imbibing circular economy,” said the release.

Tata Steel is the first steel maker in the country to receive the ‘ResponsibleSteel Certification’ for its Jamshedpur plant, placing India on the global decarbonisation and sustainability map.