Tata Steel Nederland files environmental report for Green Steel transition

Tata Steel Nederland files environmental report for Green Steel transition

Tata Steel Nederland has submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to the Province of North Holland, in what is being called the largest industrial transformation in Dutch history.

The move is part of the company's ambitious Green Steel plan to drastically reduce carbon emissions and modernize steel production at its IJmuiden facility.

The new steel production process will replace coal with natural gas and green electricity, cutting CO₂ emissions by 5 million tonnes. Future integration of hydrogen, bio-methane, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could deliver even deeper emission reductions, potentially setting a national record for single-company CO₂ cuts.

“Our Green Steel plan, developed in close collaboration with trade unions and fully backed by our parent company in India, represents an unprecedented shift – not just for us, but for the entire region. We are moving away from coal, and towards a cleaner, greener future," said Hans van den Berg, CEO of Tata Steel Nederland.

“Preparations are already in full swing. The blueprints are ready, we know where the new plants will be built, and we’ve detailed the environmental benefits in the EIA – from reduced nitrogen emissions to a significant drop in odour pollution. We have chosen to publish the EIA ourselves in the interest of transparency. We believe it is important for the local community to understand what our Green Steel plan entails. We’re going beyond legal requirements, using cutting-edge solutions to ensure our site remains future proof for decades to come," Jeroen Klumper, Director of the Green Steel Business Transformation said.

Responding to concerns raised by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health (RIVM), Tata Steel will also begin covering its ore storage fields to reduce fine dust pollution.
Additionally, Tata Steel is also backing a Health Impact Assessment (HIA), which will translate environmental data into real-world health metrics for nearby communities.

Meanwhile, to maintain transparency, the company will hold public information sessions on July 8 and 9, with more sessions planned after the summer break.

The submission of the EIA to the local authorities is a pivotal step in Tata Steel's much-awaited green transformation of its Dutch operations, which has one of the largest steel plants in Europe. The company's management has acknowledged that the transformation of its Netherlands operations has trailed that of the United Kingdom, where Tata Steel is undertaking a 1.2 billion pound investment towards the project chiefly at its Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, replacing the legacy fossil-fuel blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces. The UK government has also provided a 500 million pound assistance to the transformation project.

Analysts have estimated that the green transformation at Netherlands may cost around $5 billion, although Tata Steel expects to receive significant financial support from the Dutch government. Tata Steel remains in negotiations with the Dutch government to thrash out a support structure for the transformation project. The company has previously faced fines from local authorities due to pollution from its IJmuiden facility in the North Sea Canal region.