Tata Steel is undertaking a massive GBP 1.25 billion upgrade project at its Port Talbot site in South Wales, UK, aiming to transition from traditional blast furnace (BF) steelmaking to a low-carbon electric arc furnace (EAF) process. 

The project, funded by a GBP 500 million grant from the UK government, is expected to reduce the plant's carbon emissions by nearly 90%, equivalent to 1.5% of the UK's total direct emissions.

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB), headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, a global technology leader in electrification and automation, has been appointed as the project's main technology partner, responsible for supplying high and low voltage switchgear, power and distribution transformers, and advanced digital control systems. Furthermore, ABB will collaborate with Tenova to implement ArcSave® electromagnetic stirrer-based metallurgy technology to improve EAF efficiency and reduce energy consumption.

The new EAF with a capacity of 320 tons is expected to begin technical commissioning in 2027 and be fully operational in 2028, marking the 125-year-old steelworks' entry into a new era of digitalization and sustainable production. Tata Steel states that this is a significant step towards its goal of fossil-free steelmaking by 2045.