Tata Steel commences trial use of hydrogen gas in blast furnace at Jamshedpur plant

New Delhi: Tata Steel on Monday said it has started trial injection of hydrogen gas in a blast furnace at its plant in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

The company has six blast furnaces at its plant in Jamshedpur.

"Tata Steel has commenced the trial injection of hydrogen gas using 40 per cent of the injection systems in 'E' blast furnace at Jamshedpur. This is the first time in the world that such a large quantity of hydrogen gas is being continuously injected in a blast furnace," it said in a statement.

The trial started on April 23 and is expected to continue for 4-5 days on a continuous basis.

It will provide valuable insights into operating blast furnaces with greener fuel injectants, reducing fossil fuel consumption and subsequent CO2 emissions from the blast furnace, the statement said.

Tata Steel said the trial has the potential to reduce the coke rate by 10 per cent, translating into around 7-10 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions per tonne of crude steel produced.

"The trial of hydrogen gas injection in a blast furnace at Jamshedpur Works is an important milestone in our journey towards net zero emissions.

"We are confident that this trial will provide valuable insights into operating blast furnaces with hydrogen and help us identify the next steps towards achieving our goal of a leaner carbon future," Uttam Singh, Vice President, Iron Making at Tata Steel, said.