Tata Steel, one of the world’s largest steel producers, is examining the option of going nuclear for producing green steel. According to sources in the atomic energy sector, the company is looking at the feasibility of putting up about 200 Bharat Small Reactors (BSRs), of 220 MW each, totalling about 45 GW of capacity.
Tata Steel declined to comment on this, saying “there is nothing to talk about the subject now.”
Sources said that Tata Steel, whose four Indian plants have a combined capacity to produce 21.6 million tonnes of steel a year, is keen on producing green steel, even though it does not export much to Europe, where the ‘carbon border adjustment mechanism’ (CBAM) is likely to kick in from January 1, 2026. The CBAM is a duty levied on certain imported goods, including steel, for the greenhouse gas emissions that may have happened during their production, so that Europe’s domestic producers are not disadvantaged vis-a-vis imports.
Sources also said that other steel companies are also looking at BSRs, but Tata Steel is quite keen.
- Also read: India prepares for green steel trials, pilot projects to use hydrogen instead of coking coal
Govt to partner private sector
In her Budget speech of July 23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about BSRs, saying that the government would partner with the private sector for setting up BSRs.
While the world is talking about ‘small modular reactors’, India believes it is already an expert in that area, as the government-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), has been running 15 pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs), 220 MW each, for decades.
Recently, R B Grover, Member, Atomic Energy Commission, told journalists that the 220-MW PHWRs were being modified. The modified versions would be called BSRs—the technology would be licensed to the private sector.
Sources say that Tata Steel is likely to use the electricity from the BSRs in electrolysers to produce green hydrogen and use the hydrogen to replace coking coal in the production of steel.
Of course, the Atomic Energy Act would need to be amended to let the private sector own and operate nuclear power plants in India. It is learnt that the government is planning suitable amendments to the act.