Tata Steel is set to begin construction of its low-emission electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking facility at Port Talbot, Wales, in July 2025, with commercial operations expected by 2027, according to the company’s FY2024–25 annual report. The project, valued at USD 1.5 billion (approximately Rs 125 billion), has secured the necessary planning approvals and is backed by £500 million in funding from the UK Government.

The initiative marks a strategic shift towards decarbonised, modern steel production, as the company transitions away from traditional blast furnace operations. Tata Steel’s CEO & MD T V Narendran, and Executive Director & CFO Koushik Chatterjee confirmed the project timeline and funding details, emphasising the move as a major sustainability milestone.

The upstream steelmaking facilities at Port Talbot have already been decommissioned, and the company is currently servicing UK clients using imported substrate from its plants in India, the Netherlands, and other external sources. This interim downstream model ensures supply continuity until the new EAF unit becomes operational.

Chairman N Chandrasekaran stated that Tata Steel remains on track with its low-emission steelmaking transition. The dismantling of the end-of-life blast furnaces has paved the way for the EAF buildout, which will leverage locally sourced scrap to produce up to 3.2 million tonnes of low-emission steel annually by 2027.

The company also outlined a cost rationalisation strategy to accompany the structural transformation, aiming to reduce fixed costs from £762 million in FY25 to £540 million in the following year. Savings will stem from substrate cost optimisation, IT modernisation, streamlining of downstream operations, and the elimination of corporate overheads.

The project is expected to cut more than 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next decade, aligning with Tata Steel's broader environmental goals and the UK’s push for a greener industrial base.