Tata Steel UK Secures £7 Million for AI-Based Green Steel Packaging Project

Tata Steel UK Bags £ 7 Million Funding for AI-Driven Packaging

Tata Steel UK has adopted a new research project for creating advanced steel products, which can be used for the packaging of food cans and other containers. The new project is named ‘ADAPT-EAF (Accelerating the Development of Automotive and Packaging steel Technology for Electric Arc Furnace production), which aims to develop a new generation of steel for cars and packaging.

Tata’s new project line includes an investment of £ 7 million, with support from UK universities and the EPSRC Prosperity partnership program. It will focus on creating strong and low-carbon steel products with a commitment to greener manufacturing.

The project will include a focus on developing a world-class AI-powered platform to predict how various scrap metals affect the quality of the final steel. This will further help in improving the performance and manufacturing efficiency of the products. It will also include fast prototyping and testing of new steel mixes to gather and create steel grades suitable for the packaging uses.

Claire Davis, University of Warwick, said, “The Prosperity Partnership programmes are excellent vehicles for close collaboration between industry and academia. This is an exciting opportunity to work with leading academics and industrialists to make the UK a leader in the production of green steel.”

Tata’s ADAPT-EAF brings towards the Universities of Cambridge, Warwick, and Imperial College London to drive the sustainable innovation in steel production. The announcement came before the construction of a new Electric Arc Furnace at Tata’s Port Talbot site.

“This partnership, enabled through the EPSRC Prosperity Partnership Program, has come at the right time. We need to pool all available resources at our academia to develop technologies at a speed that can lead to a sustainable steel business in the UK.” Says the CEO of Tata Steel UK, Rajesh Nair.

The program will also support 13 PhD students across the partner Universities, who will aim to conduct cutting-edge research for improving the use of steel in electric furnace methods.