Tata Steel inks pact with Ford for supply of 'Zeremis' green steel

Tata Steel plans to produce green steel via hydrogen route (Representative image)

Tata Steel on October 25 announced the signing of a pact with automobile major Ford for the supply of "Zeremis", or zero-emission green steel, to the company.

As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the supply to Ford would be initiated after Tata Steel's plant in the Netherlands' IJmuiden "switches to green hydrogen-based steelmaking".

The agreement makes Ford the "first customer" committed to offtake the green steel that Tata Steel plans to produce via the hydrogen route, which is more sustainable and cleaner than the current steel-making method, the company said in a release to the media.

Green hydrogen refers to the hydrogen generated from electrolysis of water, with the entire process run on renewable energy.

In the industry, colour is assigned based on the source of electricity that is used to generate the hydrogen molecule. Brown hydrogen is for coal, grey for natural gas and blue if it is produced from natural gas.  ​

Ford has set a target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035. The procurement of more environmentally-friendly produced steel is considered an essential to achieve the goal.

“Our customers, like us, want to take care of our planet, and we are taking the necessary steps on this journey, providing the vehicles they need to make a positive contribution against climate change, produced in a more sustainable way,” said Sue Slaughter, Ford purchasing director-supply chain and sustainability.

Improvements within the company's supply chain are key and with the use of carbon-neutral steel, Ford will take a major step towards lowering the CO2 footprint of its vehicles, Slaughter added.

Apart from securing the supply of Zeremis green steel, Ford is also considering other Tata Steel offerings, including the recently launched Zeremis Carbon Lite steel, which comes with an "allocated carbon footprint reduction of up to 100 percent", the release said.

"By aligning our sustainability ambitions with customers like Ford, we can create an early market for green steel, speed up the transition and meet the expectations of society at large," Hans van den Berg, chairman of the board of management of Tata Steel Nederland BV said.