Tata Steel UK’s move to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology at our Port Talbot steelworks marks a transformative step in how steel is made for the UK automotive sector. From 2028, we will supply high-quality automotive steel with over 50% lower CO₂ emissions, up to 80% recycled content, and even closed-loop recycling options.

Why EAF, and why now?

The new EAF at Port Talbot is designed to replace the traditional blast furnace method of steel production, which relies heavily on coal to process iron ore into steel and emits significant amounts of CO₂.

No, don’t mistake me that I don’t like EV’s, because I do. I think they are great and a huge improvement compared to the dirty diesel- or petrol-powered vehicles from the previous era. But looking frankly at the price, performance and looks of most of the contemporary EV’s one might not escape the thought that things could be further improved. And rightly so, they can, because EV’s are practically only in their infancy as basically the electrification of the automotive industry only took off about 15 years ago.

In Dutch they say: “Schoenmaker blijf bij je leest”, which basically means “why don’t you focus on what you know best, and let other people worry about things you know nothing about.” But the latter is not true. World Auto Steel (WAS) has a track record of successfully designing vehicles that already started in 1998 with ULSAB (Ultralight Steel Auto Body), which was followed up by FSV (Future Steel Vehicle) in 2013.

So, let’s take a closer look at one of the key components when it comes to improving the performance of EVs: the e-motor. When I am talking to customers there are a few issues that are often brought to my attention. They are looking for efficiency gains, power improvement or weight and size reduction. I fully understand that this is what is most vital to them. Being able to interact with their experts on improving e-motor designs is what makes my job so interesting. 

But making the step from the consumer to the expert perspective not only allows me to achieve a more thorough understanding of the EV performance, it also enables me to add one other important element to the list of criteria: true sustainability. In fact, one of the main reasons why I am considering an EV as my next vehicle is that I would like to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Well, if that is the case, it does not make sense to judge an EV only on the basis of its in-use performance.

A car manufacturer should therefore be focused on improvements that have the largest impact on overall performance. The battery and how it is integrated has the most obvious impact on the performance, cost and safety of the vehicle. Car batteries are heavy and contain huge amounts of energy to power the vehicle. That is when the energy is contained and released in a controlled manner. When it is not, it has the potential to cause trouble. So battery safety is of crucial importance, but overall vehicle performance is too. How do designers ensure that optimal performance is achieved?

Being responsible for the electrification strategy of Tata Steel in Europe, I would naturally go for a battery electric vehicle (EV). There too the options are numerous since the market is currently being bombarded with new EVs. Car manufacturers have to provide these alternatives: increasing the share of EVs in their sales will reduce average CO2-emissions across the fleet, allowing them to meet governmental regulations and preventing them from having to pay huge penalties.

In my near-20-year career at Tata Steel – first in R&D, then in marketing, where I am now leading the automotive marketing management function – I’ve been fortunate enough to see how the automotive industry has developed. As a sector, automotive has often been keen to embrace new developments; first there were Dual Phase steels, then the Hot-Press Forming steels, and then third generation cold-formed Ultra High Strength Steels.