Newsroom Tata Steel Nederland

Tata Steel Nederland completes windbreaker

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 15:30:37 +0200

Tom Eussen, member of the Board of Management of Tata Steel Nederland and responsible for the operations at the IJmuiden site: "Compliments to all employees and other stakeholders who have made the windbreaker possible. The purpose of the windbreaker is to reduce the nuisance of dust in the vicinity of the factories in IJmuiden. In combination with other measures, it is expected that the deposition of dust in the immediate residential area will significantly decrease. In addition to the windbreaker, we are also working hard on improvements at our raw material logistics to further reduce the dispersal of dust."

From the raw material fields, the smallest particles can be blown up and settle in the surrounding area as dust. The windbreaker is designed to counteract this. It is expected that the windbreaker, together with other Roadmap Plus measures, will result in a 65% reduction in dust deposition.

In consultation with local residents

The windbreaker has been adorned with a painting by the artists of Spatzuiver. The design for this was created in consultation with local residents, the architectural review board, the municipality, and Tata Steel Nederland. The colors were chosen to ensure that the screen blends in with the surroundings as much as possible.

Environmental improvement program Roadmap Plus

The windbreaker is part of a larger environmental improvement program that also includes, for example, extraction hoods and fabric filters in the factories. In December 2023, the largest vacuum cleaner in the Netherlands was put into operation at the Pellet plant, the Blast Furnaces received 6 additional extraction hoods, and the Steel Plant was equipped with a third extraction system that was built through the roof while the plant remained operational.

These measures, like the windbreaker, are part of the Roadmap Plus: a comprehensive environmental improvement program that was established to minimize the nuisance for the surrounding area. Since 2019, Tata Steel Nederland has invested 300 million euros in the Roadmap Plus program.

T.V. Narendran, CEO of Tata Steel Ltd: “In the Netherlands it's also about health, and not just about reducing CO2 emissions”

Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:14:14 +0200

“In the Netherlands, it's not just about reducing CO2 emissions, but it’s also about health,” says Narendran. “Until a few years ago, the focus was mainly on green steel production in the future. Now, the conversation is also about how clean you are while making steel in the present. It's something we're committed to.”

This month, the Dutch government received the green light from the Dutch parliament to negotiate with Tata Steel Nederland about making the steel production in IJmuiden more sustainable. The Green Steel Plan includes the replacement of Blast Furnace 7 and Coke Oven Plant 2 with a Direct Reduction Plant (DRP) and an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) by 2030, reducing CO2 emissions by 40%.

“Not easy, but we are confident”
“We will do everything we can to achieve this transition in the quickest possible time and the most technically feasible way,” says Narendran. He acknowledges that it won't be easy, pointing out the challenges of renovating Blast Furnace 6 in the past year. “This project (the Green Steel Plan) is more than five times larger and even more complex. At the same time, restoring the trust of the community and support for the renovation is crucial.”

Narendran also notes that the government will be keeping a close eye on the renovation and will intervene if necessary. “And that is correct. But I am confident. We have the advantage of being able to make full use of the knowledge and experience we have gained in India over the past decades in building new installations, also for IJmuiden. And as management, we will also keep an eye on the ball because the board is in nature an operational board.”

Rationale behind government subsidy
Narendran is clear about the rationale behind government subsidies for the European steel industry, summing up: “For any sector that is in transition and that we consider strategically important, government support in some form is not uncommon. Look at the automotive sector, would there be electric cars on the road now without subsidies? Or take the energy sector: would our solar panels and wind turbines have been commercially viable without any support in the early stages?”

The second argument is a level playing field. “How can Tata Steel Nederland remain competitive [without support], when 40% to 60% of the capital support for the green project has already been allocated by the governments in Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, or the United Kingdom?”

Finally, Narendran believes that subsidies from European governments for their steel companies are the most cost-effective way to reduce CO2 and achieve their climate goals. “With the state support that various European governments have pledged, they expect to achieve the greatest CO2 reduction benefit.”

Do you find this interesting? Have a look at this article:

T.V. Narendran, CEO Tata Steel Ltd: “I believe we need to change as a steel company”

Production of cladding for the windscreen near materials storage is in full swing

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 15:26:58 +0200

The profiles that leave the SAB-profile facility in IJsselstein begin their journey as ores and coal in the port of Tata Steel IJmuiden and was transformed into prepainted steel: Colorcoat® SDP 50. This material is ideal for our project, given its aesthetic appeal, durability, and resilience in the challenging local conditions of strong winds and proximity to the North Sea. They leave this site as a roll of steel, which has been rolled out to a thickness of 1.25 millimeters. At the Perfox company in Groningen - the only company in the chain that is not part of Tata Steel Nederland - the plates are cut and provided with holes.

“It's impressive how they work there,” says Van de Kaa, while using his hands to explain how certain operations work at Perfox. “They not only make the big holes but also the small ones for attachment. They do this by working with dies of various heights.”

No trees, no canvases
The fact that Tata Steel Nederland makes its own windbreaker is unique. Van de Kaa and De Vos cannot think of any other company in the Netherlands that can pull off the same feat. However, there were several moments in the design process where other choices could have prevented 'Made By Tata Steel Nederland from being on the windscreen.

“When we started, we also considered trees. However, it turned out impossible to find trees that were high enough, and waiting for twenty years was not a good plan.” A variant with canvases was also rejected. “With strong winds, they would all come loose, which would have resulted in not having a windscreen but a rack with flapping canvases instead. That did not seem appealing to me,” says Van de Kaa.

Once the windscreen was designed in its current form, the question of who could produce all the parts remained. “We also looked in China, but the delivery reliability was uncertain, and any subsequent deliveries would also be problematic.”

5,000 profiles
Ultimately, producing the windscreen within Tata Steel Nederland turned out to be the best solution. Frank de Vos, who has been working at SAB-profile for about six months, was responsible as a product manager for realizing the project.

“It's quite challenging for us. Usually, we choose to get a plate into its final form with a roll former. Now that was not possible due to the specific shape. It concerns 5,000 plates that we have to make once and then never again. We cannot have mold roll form cassettes made for only one such order. That would be far too expensive. That is why we had to come up with a different solution, and that was bending the plates in our folding department.”

After IJsselstein, the profiles go to Uitgeest, where they are assembled into cassettes. A portion of the cassettes is adorned with images by the Spatzuiver artist collective from Beverwijk. “The screen consists of eight different colours. Each cassette is numbered, and there is a colour code attached to it. This is how we want to ensure that the screen from a distance looks like a beach with a horizon and clouds above it. That's quite a challenge to deliver in the correct order,” says De Vos with a laugh.

Innovation
Both the holes and the shape of the panels have a function. “The holes ensure that part of the wind passes through and part of the wind passes over. This slows down the wind and prevents dust particles from being swept away.”

The shape is also innovative. In studies in a digital wind tunnel, it was found that with the sheet pile shape, the wind will swirl near the screen. This swirl theoretically ensures that any dust that has been blown up near the screen settles. This keeps it on our site, and we can use it in our processes. This way, we use the raw materials more efficiently, and the nuisance to the environment will further decrease.”

“This project has caused me to look at our factory and our products with a different perspective. We never made a windbreaker before, and now we have completed this project. Perhaps this will turn out to be the basis for a whole new business for us,” concludes De Vos.

Improvement program
The construction of the windscreen is part of the Roadmap Plus improvement program. This program aims to reduce the impact that Tata Steel Nederland has on the environment. With the program, Tata Steel Nederland invests more than € 300 million in measures that reduce emissions of substances, odour, light, and noise. Other measures include tertiary extraction at the Steelworks, extraction hoods at the blast furnaces, and a dust removal plant and DeNOx installation at the Pellet Plant.