Tata says Dutch state support needed in drive for ‘green’ steel

Tata Steel on Wednesday said it would convert its heavily polluting steel mill in the Netherlands to a cleaner one powered by natural gas or hydrogen by the end of the decade, if the Dutch government would shoulder part of the costs.

In a bid to reduce its massive emissions of climate heating carbon dioxide (CO2), Tata said it aimed to replace steel production in coal-fired blast furnaces by a process fuelled by ‘green’ hydrogen, derived from wind power, by 2030.

But this could only happen with enough government support, Tata’s Dutch subsidiary said in a statement.

“This relates to subsidies, building of infrastructure for the transport of hydrogen and necessary permits”, Tata Steel Netherlands said, without providing financial details.