Tata Steel UK, the largest steelmaker in Britain with primary steelworks at Port Talbot in South Wales, has announced the closure of its deteriorating coke ovens as part of wider transition plans to produce net-zero steel by 2045.
Tata Steel UK CEO Rajesh Nair said the decision to cease operations at the Morfa Coke Ovens and one of the two blast furnaces at Port Talbot was taken as a result of significantly deteriorating operational stability.
Nair said in a statement: “The performance of the coke ovens has been deteriorating over many months, despite some Herculean efforts by the teams there. The condition of the ovens has now worsened to a level making continued operation untenable. We will now begin the process of safely closing and purging the coke ovens, and ceasing operations at the adjoining By-Products plant.
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“We will work hard over the coming weeks to understand the aspirations of the current coke ovens workforce in alignment with our ongoing wider consultation programme. We have been clear in our current restructuring proposals that many of our heavy-end assets in Port Talbot are at their end-of-life capability.”
As part of the Indian steel major’s efforts to stem losses in its UK operations, the company proposes to close the heavy end iron and steelmaking assets at Port Talbot within this calendar year in a phased manner. Tata Steel reaffirmed its commitment to invest £1.25 billion in electric arc furnace-based capacity, which it said will secure steelmaking in Port Talbot for the long term and facilitate a transition to low-carbon steelmaking.
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Tata Steel UK employs more than 8,000 people and has an annual crude steel capacity of 5 million tonnes, supplying high-quality steel products to demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering. The company has an ambition to have reduced 30 per cent of its CO2 emissions by 2030.
Mumbai-headquartered Tata Steel Group is one of the world's most geographically diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world.