Technology for emission reduction

Tata Steel has taken significant steps towards decarbonising its blast furnace operations. In Jamshedpur, the Company executed a hydrogen injection trial using 40% of the injection systems in the E Blast Furnace. It was the first time in the world that such a large quantity of hydrogen was continuously injected into a blast furnace.

In the Netherlands, Tata Steel is preparing itself for the proposed transition to green steelmaking. Towards this, targeted research projects were undertaken, such as optimising pellet characteristics to suit future iron-making processes using the direct reduced iron (DRI) method. The development of models and pilot installations for electric arc furnace simulation is also well underway. The Company is evaluating the impact of hydrogen steelmaking on the refractory materials used to line and protect the process facilities.

The Company is also assessing the use of additional biomass (in the form of BioChar) as a sustainable source of carbon within the H₂ -DRI strategy.

Tata Steel also continued trials at its HIsarna pilot plant in IJmuiden. The HIsarna technology is a more energy efficient iron-making technology as it does not require pre-processing of the ores and metallurgical coal. Furthermore, the technology is suited to combine with Carbon Capture Utilisation and Sequestration (CCUS) to further reduce CO₂ emissions. The Company plans to perform test runs with high-alumina ore and natural gas, with the goal to build a second largest demo plant in India in the future.

In July 2023, Tata Steel announced the Tata Steel Sprint to Zero 2023 challenge. Being part of the India-UK Hydrogen Partnership, this initiative aims at funding groundbreaking research and development projects in low-carbon hydrogen, across academia, startups and industries based out of India and the UK.

In the UK, Tata Steel has been involved in the WorldAutoSteel E-motive project that aims to create a fully autonomous ride-sharing vehicle concept, showcasing the latest developments in steel with a focus on Net Zero emission targets. In 2023, a full engineering report was published in partnership with a global engineering firm, intended to support automakers in the continued development of Mobility-as-a-Service ride-sharing models.

Leveraging global entrepreneurial pool

Tata Steel has conducted proofof-concept experiments and pilots with 40+ Indian and global startups to develop breakthrough solutions. In collaboration with a UK-based startup, Tata Steel commissioned a 5 tonnes per day carbon capture plant in Jamshedpur – a first for a steel company in India. Tata Steel was among the R&D 100 award winners, awarded by R&D World, for the carbon capture plant.

Collaboration for establishing innovation centres

In FY2023-24, Tata Steel signed an MoU with Imperial College London to set up a Centre for Innovation in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing in London.

Tata Steel also signed an MoU with The Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, Manchester, UK, to set up a Centre for Innovation in Advanced Materials, investing £10 million over four years towards collaborative research and development and exploring 2D and second-life materials. The Company has already established two other Centres for Innovation at Chennai and Dhanbad in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, on Advanced Mobility and with the Indian Institute of Technology-Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, on Mining and Beneficiation.

Tata Steel has also signed an MoU with IIT Bhubaneswar to collaborate with IIT Bhubaneswar REP (Research and Entrepreneurship Park) to explore collaboration in the areas of materials processing and modelling, energy and environment, and low carbon steel production and circular economy. The REP incubates early-stage startups, providing technical, financial, marketing and legal support.

Key new products developed

Tata Steel has developed an engineered polymer coating solution that makes the 7-tanks pre-treatment process redundant. This technology is mainly developed for cold rolled steel and can be directly applied without any pre-treatment or primer coatings. Hence, pre-engineering polymer-coated cold rolled strip can be supplied by a steel manufacturer for ready-to-paint/print at the customers’ end.

To combat the added weight of batteries, European automotive customers constantly look for costeffective lightweight solutions for their electric vehicles. Tata Steel recently expanded the HyperForm series with the launch of CR DP600- GI HyperForm®. The product series offers strength and formability that is normally associated with much softer qualities. For example, this grade has better formability than the standard DP600-GI and strength exceeding HSLA (High Strength Low Alloy) grades. This combination and the excellent welding properties offer ample possibilities for lightweight solutions.

In Thailand, Tata Steel has developed innovative products such as larger dowel bars (38 mm, 40 mm) and high-strength rebars, with the air-cooled process for tie bar applications, which meet the new design requirements of the country’s infrastructure projects. In FY2023-24, Tata Steel achieved a milestone by exporting its first batch of rebars from Thailand to Australia in container packing. Furthermore, the Company is developing a fatigue-resistant rebar that conforms to the BS 4449 standard for reinforced concrete.

The HAP production unit received the ISO 13485:2016 certification for medicalgrade manufacturing and commercialisation, making it the first and the only one of its kind in India.

The FRP business has scaled up over the years and reported a revenue of approximately `375 crore in FY2023-24. Today, Tata Steel is one of the major players in the FRP space, especially in the B2B segment. With a firm stronghold in the industrial and railway customer segments, the focus is now on leveraging the existing distribution channel strength of Tata Steel, to increase the presence in the SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) and retail segment.

Tata Steel TABB Limited was set up in September 2022 as a subsidiary to Tata Steel Advanced Materials Limited (TSAML), to produce aluminium honeycomb-cored sandwich composite panels. Its key customers are the Indian Railways and other global railways. The business is also exploring opportunities in other segments like construction, infrastructure, automotive and marine spaces. Commercial production through a trial order has been executed in FY2023-24, post commissioning of the plant in Khopoli, Maharashtra.

The Graphene business focuses on technology-led proprietary graphene formulations to enhance end-user product performance in the areas of rubber, polymers, fabric, dispersions, etc. Continuous collaboration with customers and academia followed by robust commercialisation is the cornerstone of the business.

It focuses on manufacturing premium quality bio-ceramic materials (hydroxyapatite) in India, which act as an input to the implant manufacturers and as an additive in consumer goods. The hydroxyapatite (HAP) production unit received the ISO 13485:2016 certification for medical-grade manufacturing and commercialisation, making it the first and the only one of its kind in India. The unit has defined controls with final product specification ascertainment at the nanometer scale. The applications have since evolved beyond orthopaedical implants to oral care and consumer applications such as cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals.

TQM

In its pursuit of becoming a world-class organisation, Tata Steel continues to set new standards and go beyond the industry norms. This report highlights Tata Steel’s TQM journey over the past year, showcasing key initiatives, significant achievements, and recognitions across various prestigious forums across geographies.

The TQM culture at Tata Steel is deeply ingrained with ‘Gemba Focused Excellence’ at its core. Last year, the shop-floor employee involvement in improvement initiatives at Tata Steel India reached 95%, a two-decade high. With aim to enhance overall operational performance and minimise losses, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) was rolled out in different divisions of Tata Steel including FAMD, Khopoli, and all three manufacturing units of Tata Steel Thailand.

With the objective to strengthen business processes, ‘The Enterprise Process Model’ was launched at Tata Steel UK, aimed at driving maturity in key work and support processes. This initiative garnered recognition and sought adoption by Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Steel Nederland.

Tata Steel Meramandali (Steel Melting Shop and Hot Strip Mill) achieved IATF 16949:2016 certification for the first time, enabling the unit to supply hot rolled coils and sheets to automotive customers. Tata Steel Nederland underwent its first assessment under the Tata Business Excellence Model as an independent unit.

During FY2023-24, the Company organised four learning missions for corporates including two Tata Group companies. The sessions saw participation from 85 delegates. To foster a culture of innovation, the ‘i-Champs’ programme was rolled out at Tata Steel Tinplate division and Tata Steel UK Innovation Awards were introduced.

At the Tata Edge Innovation Awards 2024, Tata Steel won the ‘Excellence in Managing Ideas’ award for its comprehensive Idea Management process. Tata Steel also received recognition in two individual categories: Role Model Adoption Award and Role Model Partner Award. At the Tata Business Excellence Convention 2023, Tata Steel received the 'Significant Impact through Improvement Interventions' award.

Five teams from Tata Steel won the highest category ‘Gold’ award at the International Convention on Quality Control Circles (ICQCC). At the Asian Network for Quality (ANQ) Congress, Tata Steel bagged the Best Paper Award.

Tata Steel continued to excel at the national forums of repute. At the 37^th National Convention on Quality Concepts (NCQC), 28 out of 34 participating SGA circles won the highest category ‘Par Excellence’ award. The Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division (FAMD) earned the Gold Award for Quality Sustainability from the Indian Society for Quality (ISQ). Tata Steel Thailand received the CSRDIW Continuous Award 2023 from the Department of Industrial Works (DIW), the Ministry of Industry, for all three manufacturing units.

Industry 4.0 – Know-how and capabilities

Tata Steel has identified ‘Digital Leadership in the Steel Industry’ as a Strategic Enabler (SE). To this end, the Company has deployed an industry-standard 7-layer technology architecture through significant investments in cloud, data and AI (Artificial Intelligence). The foundation of the transformation is a secure, multitenanted cloud and connectivity that enables 'always-on' business.

Tata Steel is in the process of consolidating enterprise systems and standardised business processes into a Mother IT architecture template, enabling standardisation across geographies and organisational agility through Plug-n-Play M&A, as demonstrated by recent mergers.

Machine-aided insights have enabled process predictability across the value chain with 550+ AI models developed in the last five years of Yield, Energy, Throughput, Quality and Productivity (YETQP), stakeholder experience, employee health and safety and equipment maintenance. AI-enabled actionable safety alerts in the MyPass Application are tracked to closure, making it the one-stop app for workplace information and safety. Augmented reality has been used to create virtual walkthroughs and process simulations for critical processes throughout the supply chain. Generative AI has enabled conversational agents for contextual and human-like conversations at stakeholder touchpoints for the Company. Pilot implementations of Industrial 5G have also been undertaken.

The Connected Business Platforms such as Connected Assets, Operations, People, Transactions, Processes, and Customers enable locationagnostic operations across mining, manufacturing and maintenance. They support innovative business models and data-backed decision-making on a single version of truth at all touchpoints. The Connected Operations platform ensures intelligent, remote, and safer operations through Integrated Remote Operations Centres (iROCs). In FY2023-24, Tata Steel added the Integrated Coke Plant Remote Operations Centre (iCPROC) in Jamshedpur, operating over 10 km away from the plant. The Company’s Connected Assets initiative leverages sensorisation for predictive maintenance, preventing over 1,350 hours of delays and providing centralised expertise in the Integrated Maintenance Excellence Centre (i-MEC).

Data privacy

Tata Steel is deeply committed to safeguarding data privacy, recognising it as a cornerstone of trust and integrity in its operations. It focuses majorly on pertinent concerns arising from collecting, storing, retaining, as well as transfers of personal data within applicable laws and regulations across its operating locations. Our strong data security initiatives help in protecting data against unauthorised access and loss or corruption throughout the data lifecycle. Tata Steel is not only focused on complying with the regulatory norms on privacy but also aims to empower every individual, connected with the organisation, to understand, respect and contribute to the protection of personal and sensitive information.

We ensure limited collection and sharing of personal information only on the right-to-know basis ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. Dedicated workshops, campaigns, trainings, and digital booklets have been made available to improve the culture of data protection and value privacy amongst the fraternity of all stakeholders.