Work to bring “a cleaner, greener future” to a south Wales site, where 2,800 jobs were lost when traditional steelmaking ended, will begin today.
Construction will commence on a new electric arc furnace at Port Talbot’s Tata steel works, which is expected to be up and running by 2027 and reduce the site’s carbon emissions by about 90%.
It comes after 2,800 jobs were lost when the site’s blast furnaces were shut in September 2024.
A union described the announcement as “bittersweet”, but the UK government insisted it was a “major win”.
UK Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will join the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens and representatives from Tata Steel to officially start the work on the new, greener steel-making project.
Meanwhile, the UK government’s steel council will meet on Monday to finalise its steel strategy, chaired by UK Industry Minister Sarah Jones and “backed by up to £2.5bn in investment”.
Community Union said the start of the works in Port Talbot was a “bittersweet day” after the “devastating closure of the blast furnaces” at the site.
The union’s assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said: “Today should represent the first step towards rebuilding our steel industry and creating new high-quality jobs for our steel communities.
“Going forward we must see further investment to develop and grow the business, both here in Port Talbot and across all the crucial downstream sites.”
He added the union would continue to hold talks with government “on their plans to safeguard and co-invest in our steel industry”.
The UK government said the milestone was a “major win” made possible by a £500m grant they provided as part of the “improved deal for Port Talbot’s transition”.
Reynolds described it as “great news for Welsh steelmaking”, which will give “certainty to local communities and thousands of local jobs for years to come”.
Chairman of Tata Group Natarajan Chandrasekaran said it was a “ground-breaking” day which “marks not just the beginning of a new electric arc furnace, but a new era for sustainable manufacturing in Britain”.
“At Port Talbot, we are building the foundations of a cleaner, greener future, supporting jobs, driving innovation, and demonstrating our commitment to responsible industry leadership,” he added.
Jo Stevens said the construction of the new furnace “realises the promise we made to the community” and meant “Port Talbot has a bright future”.
