Tata Steel signs GBP 500 mn grant funding pact with UK govt; stock up 3%

The upward move in Tata Steel shares came after the company signed a £500 million grant funding pact with the UK government for a £1.25 billion green steel project in Port Talbot. =

Tata Steel share surges: Shares of steel behemoth Tata Steel surged as much as 2.86 per cent to hit an intraday high of Rs 152.40 per share on Thursday, September 12, 2024. 

The upward move in Tata Steel shares came after the company signed a 500 million pound grant funding pact with the UK government for a 1.25 billion pound green steel project in Port Talbot.

In an exchange filing, the steel manufacturer said, “Tata Steel announces that it has signed a 500 million pound Grant Funding Agreement with the UK Government allowing it to proceed at pace with the project to install a state-of-the-art Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) at the Port Talbot steelworks in Wales.”

 

The project is expected to enhance the UK's steel industry, preserve 5,000 jobs, and significantly cut carbon emissions. The EAF initiative will reduce the UK's industrial carbon footprint by 8 per cent and Port Talbot's emissions by 90 per cent, setting a new standard in sustainable steel production by utilising UK scrap.

In addition to the 750 million pound Tata Steel investment, the company is leveraging its global engineering expertise for this project, which benefits from the additional 500 million pound in grant funding.

“With the UK government’s critical support, this complex and ambitious transformation of Port Talbot has the potential to make the plant one of Europe’s premier centres for green steelmaking. I would like to thank the UK Steel Committee and various departments of the UK and Welsh governments for their support in reaching this agreement. We now look forward to the efficient and speedy execution of the EAF project. We will also continue our work with the Transition Board and the UK and Welsh governments to enable this project to be a catalyst for economic regeneration and job creation in South Wales,” said T V Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Steel.

Additionally, the company highlighted that the basic engineering for the project is complete, and it plans to place equipment orders soon for the EAF, ladle metallurgy furnaces, and other components. 

Public consultations are underway, and planning approvals are anticipated by November 2024, with large-scale site work expected to start around July 2025. The EAF is projected to be operational within three years, it added.

At 10:22 AM, shares of Tata Steel were trading 1.52 per cent higher at Rs 150.40 per share. In comparison, BSE Sensex was trading 0.30 per cent higher at 81.763.67 levels.