ANPThe Little Beach of IJmuiden, with Tata Steel in the background
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 20:35
But what you hear less often is which products we use every day, which are made with steel from Tata Steel. What exactly do they make in IJmuiden and how important is steel production for the Netherlands?
Cars, batteries and washing machines
In IJmuiden, Tata Steel mainly produces coils of high-quality steel. These rolls are then used worldwide for all kinds of applications.
About a third of IJmuiden’s production ends up in the car industry. The steel is needed for the construction of car undercarriages and can also be found in batteries of electric cars.
ANPThe Oxy steel factory on the site of Tata Steel Netherlands
Just under twenty percent of Tata steel is used in the construction sector, for foundations and roofing, for example. It is also an important part of the food and luxury packaging industry, where twelve percent of production goes.
However, the largest contributors come from a wide range of everyday goods – such as penny coins, solar panels, washing machines and office chairs – which together account for almost 40 percent of production.
350 kilograms of steel per person
To put the production volume of Tata Steel IJmuiden in perspective: the company produces about 7 million tons of steel annually, accounting for about twenty percent of Tata’s total steel production worldwide. This is enough steel to produce more than 4.5 million cars, or more than 3 million shipping containers.
That seems much more than is needed in the Netherlands, but that is not the case: an average is taken per Dutch person 350 kilo steel consumed per year. This requirement roughly corresponds to the annual steel production from IJmuiden.
Dutch import
Nevertheless, the Netherlands imports a lot of steel. Why is that? Not all the steel produced in IJmuiden stays in the Netherlands. According to the company, 80 percent of production goes to European countries, about 10 to 15 percent goes to America and other parts of the world.
ANNP Galvanized coils of steel for the automotive industry are available at Tata Steel
Yorick Cramer, industry sector manager at Rabobank, explains that there are two types of steel: high-grade steel and low-grade steel. We need both. The steel that is made in the Netherlands is of high quality. This is due to the careful composition and the precise mix of different elements.
But not every construction requires the use of high-strength steel, says Cramer. Low-grade steel is simpler and less precisely composed, which often makes it cheaper. It is widely used for general construction and non-critical machine parts, he says.
‘Green Steel’
Steel is desperately needed for products that are needed to combat climate change, such as wind turbines, electric cars and solar panels. But does that steel necessarily have to be produced in the Netherlands?
Because steel is indispensable in everyday life, according to Cramer it is important to consider where we can produce steel in the most sustainable way. With the proposed sustainability plans, the factory in IJmuiden produces steel in a way that is more sustainable than many foreign factories. That is why, according to Cramer, it is better to produce the steel ‘green’ here than ‘grey’ elsewhere.
ANPEa demonstration by Tata employees in 2020
But in addition to CO2 emissions, there are also many concerns about health risks for local residents. RIVM measurements show that the factory in IJmuiden emits carcinogenic substances.
The switch to steel production using green hydrogen instead of coal could play a role in addressing some of those concerns. But a report from Tata that was leaked this week noted that in a fiercely competitive global steel market, it is difficult to make this switch and that government support is not guaranteed in the event of continued disruption.
Subsidy for the switch to hydrogen
Outside the Netherlands, companies are already supported. The European Commission on Thursday approved 2.85 billion euros in state aid to help Europe’s two largest steel producers, ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg and Thyssenkrupp in Germany, with the transition to hydrogen.
Tata now says in a response that in addition to the plans to recycle more steel, it still intends to eventually make the switch to hydrogen. After the summer, the company will announce more about its future plans.
2023-07-23 18:35:15
#cars #washing #machines #Tatas #steel #IJmuiden
