Tata Steel UK, a subsidiary of India-based steelmaker Tata Steel Limited, has ended primary steelmaking operations at its Port Talbot plant with the closure of blast furnace No. 4, one of the two furnaces at the site. The steelmaker had already shut down its first blast furnace in early July this year, both being closed within the scope of the company’s green transition efforts. The closure will result in almost 2,000 job losses, SteelOrbis understands.
Steelmaking operations at Port Talbot will be supported through imports until the construction of a new electric arc furnace which is planned for next year and expected to be operational within three years. The company will receive a £500 million grant from the UK government to fund the £1.25 billion green steel project at the plant. The project will reduce the country’s entire industrial carbon emissions by eight percent, while emissions will decrease by 90 percent at Port Talbot, as SteelOrbis previously reported.