Tata Steel: ‘It’s like open-heart surgery’

‘This is the biggest change in the history of our company. It’s also a change we need everyone to be involved in. We hope that making every effort to achieve it will mean we can still make steel here in 100 years.’ – Anouk van Loon, Transition Officer for Decarbonisation at Tata Steel. Watch the video.

‘Steel is indispensable to society: you cycle on steel, you wash in steel, we drive in steel, make cans from steel… and on top of that, we need a lot of steel for the climate transition. Steel accounts for about 8% of global CO₂ emissions, and that’s no small amount. That’s why we want to take responsibility to make sure we can make steel without emitting CO₂.’

‘We currently make pig iron in blast furnaces by reducing iron ore with coal. In the new situation, we want to reduce iron ore with hydrogen in new, clean plants. That’s quite an operation. The blast furnaces are the heart of our business and where about 90% of our CO₂ emissions occur. We want to make that transition while remaining in operation, and that’s like open-heart surgery.’

‘We need an awful lot of green energy – green electricity, green hydrogen – and we don’t have it yet. But by taking this step now, we think we can help drive the hydrogen market and ensure its acceleration.’ 

‘You can really only make such a big transition together with partners. Infrastructure plays a vital role in this. You have to make sure that the green energy can also get to the customers.’

‘We hope to be an inspiration for the entire industry. Because if Tata Steel can become sustainable, anyone can.’

Read more about hydrogen and industry.

* Who do I see in the video?
Petra is playing the role of a Dutch industrial entrepreneur whose company is facing a sustainability challenge. She visits industrial companies to draw inspiration for her own business. Petra is played by an actor. Anouk van Loon works at Tata Steel, where she is the Transition Officer for Decarbonisation.