Tata Steel Nederland signed a long-term agreement for the supply of low carbon emission steel with automotive supplier Snop, the Dutch steelmaker said Dec. 14.
The supply contract is for Tata’s Zeremis Carbon Lite product which has an allocated carbon footprint reduction of up to 90% under Scopes 1, 2 and 3 of the greenhouse gas emissions, according to Tata, with CO2 emissions of 1.54 mt of CO2 per metric tonne for the hot-rolled coil.
The steel will be used for the manufacture of high-strength structural car components, as well as outer panels for light commercial vehicles and high-end sports cars for various major car manufacturers.
“The automotive industry is looking to reduce the carbon footprint of its entire value chain and steel is a key enabler,” said Heather Wijdekop, commercial director of Tata Steel Nederland. Snop aims to reach net-zero by 2050.
Tata Steel aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030, with the commissioning of its direct reduced iron plant and electric arc furnace installations, planning to be carbon neutral by 2045. The DRI plant that will enable the supply of up to 200,000 mt/year of CO2-neutral steel Tata Steel said earlier this year.
The company also said it would increase the use of scrap to approximately 30% of the total annual production by 2030. Once the new production routes are operational Tata will supply Snop with its Zeremis “green steel”.
Tata is currently operating a carbon emission intensive blast furnace production route with a capacity of producing up to 7.5 million mt/year of hot- and cold-rolled coil.
In November, Tata Steel started offering low carbon delivery of its products by trucks that run on vegetable oil-based fuel for buyers to lower their Scope 3 emissions.
All major European steelmakers are currently ramping up their lower carbon emission steel production as increasingly more end-users such as the automotive industry are looking at a lower carbon emission supply chain and looking for offtake agreements for the sought after material.
Author Laura Varriale
