Tata Steel £1.25bn electric furnace approved by planners

5 hours ago 5

Huw Thomas

Business Correspondent, BBC Wales•huwthomas

Tata Steel A computer-generated image shows the sprawling site of the steelworks in Port Talbot. A long grey structure represents the new electric arc furnace on the banks of a small lake. It is surrounded by older steel infrastructure including buildings and chimneys, while the terraced houses of Port Talbot and green hills can be seen in the background. Tata Steel

An artist's impression of how the new electric arc furnace will sit within the existing Tata Steel site in Port Talbot

Tata Steel's bid to build a £1.25bn electric arc furnace at its Port Talbot steelworks has been given the go-ahead by planners.

Neath Port Talbot planning committee approved the company’s plans to begin construction in the summer, with the furnace expected to be operational by early 2028.

The EAF will melt mostly scrap steel and will replace both blast furnaces which closed in Port Talbot last year.

In its planning application Tata Steel said it had lost £4bn in Port Talbot since 2007 and the new furnace would create a "financially and environmentally sustainable" business.

Tata Steel has already appointed contractor Sir Robert McAlpine to deliver the project, which will involve the demolition of existing structures and partially filling an on-site lagoon.

New buildings to be constructed will include the furnace complex, a fume and dust treatment plant and a water treatment facilitiy.

A scrap processing plant will also be required.

The furnace will work by melting mostly scrap steel, with other purer forms also being added in order to achieve specialist grades of the metal.

The new electric furnace will have ultra-low emissions if the energy supply comes from renewable sources.

Tata Steel said the machinery manufacturer JCB had committed to buying "green" steel from the new furnace.

JCB On a factory production line, a man in a blue t-shirt and wearing a medical mask examines an open laptop as he stands beside a partially-constructed yellow JCB digger. JCB

JCB is one of the first companies to commit to buying steel produced by the new electric arc furnace in Port Talbot

The development will reduce carbon emissions by up to 90% compared with the previous blast furnace operation in Port Talbot.

Tata Steel had consistently said it was losing £1m a day while keeping its blast furnaces running.

The closure of the blast furnaces and the rest of the heavy end of steel production in Port Talbot led to around 2,500 job losses in south Wales, with a further 300 to come in future.

Tata Steel A computer-geneated image. Bright yellow and blue paint covers the main machinery of the new electric arc furnace which is to be built in Port Talbot. An orange glow towards the middle of the image indicates the location of the furnace itself, though the flames are not visible. Tata Steel

Tata Steel has produced a computer-generated image of the new electric arc furnace, which is expected to be operational in early 2028

Many of those who were made redundant have left the company since the last of the blast furnaces closed in September 2024.

Steel mills in Port Talbot are still in operation, and are treating imported slabs of steel. They will eventually be supplied with steel produced by the new electric furnace.

Read Entire Article