Tata Steel is investing £4.5 million more this year at its South Yorkshire operations in the UK, over the £20 million investment that it has already put in last year.
In all, this could lead to savings of £850,000 a year for the company since the funds would help “improve plant reliability and energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions and boost production of high-value steel products”.
“The amount of energy saved – 19,000 mega watt hours (MWh) – would power 4,000 homes,” a company statement said.
The steel maker is investing in four separate improvement projects at its Rotherham and Stocksbridge sites. These include a £1 million spend on new quality inspection equipment at Thrybergh Bar Mill, Rotherham, £2 million to enhance fume extraction at Rotherham steelmaking plant, £0.5 million to improve steelmaking in Rotherham and the remaining £1 million to upgrade a re-heating furnace in Stocksbridge.
“These latest investments will significantly reduce our energy bills, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 7,000 tonnes a year and help us to become a more efficient and profitable business,” Mr Mark Broxholme, Managing Director of Tata Steel's speciality steels business said.
While the new equipment at the Thrybergh Bar Mill will enable Tata Steel to make more of the technically demanding and safety-critical products for the automotive industry, at Rotherham it is looking to reduce electricity usage by more than 9,000 MWh every year save more than £0.6 million a year in energy bills.
In Stocksbridge, the company will reduce gas consumption of more than 10,000 MWh every year, reducing CO2 emissions by 2,000 tonnes and saving £250,000 a year.