Tata Steel is counting on additional government funding for the project in Port Talbot

The Indian steelmaker Tata Steel is seeking further support from the British government for its plant in Port Talbot due to delays with the new electric arc furnace (EAF). This is reported by Sky News.

According to the publication, the company has approached the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology (DBIST) to discuss a new package. Industry sources estimate that millions of pounds sterling are involved.

In 2023, the UK awarded Tata Steel a grant of £500 million to build an electric arc furnace at the plant. This was part of a £1.25 billion investment project, which involved bringing the new EAF into operation by early 2028, three years after construction began. In 2024, the plant shut down its last blast furnace as part of the ‘green’ transition.

However, due to delays in the schedule for connecting to the electricity grid, Tata Steel has concluded that the new electric arc furnace will not come on stream until late 2028 or early 2029 at the earliest. According to available information, the company has calculated that the rise in project-related costs, as well as losses from lost sales due to the EAF delay, will lead to a significant increase in the total cost of the investment plan.

As a reminder, in July this year, Tata Steel UK warned that the continued operation of its plants in the UK could be at risk. This was due to an increase in duty-free imports from certain Asian suppliers, which threatens to flood the local market with cheaper imported goods.

Courtesy: https://gmk.center/en/news/