Tata Steel develops hydrogen-ready pipes for clean energy

Tata Steel becomes India’s first steel company to demonstrate end-to-end production capability for hydrogen transportation pipes, boosting the National Hydrogen Mission.

Tata Steel becomes India’s first steel manufacturer to demonstrate end-to-end capabilities in developing pipes for hydrogen transportation, a crucial step towards achieving the country’s National Hydrogen Mission.

The API X65 ERW pipes processed at Tata Steel’s Khopoli factory, utilising steel produced at the company’s Kalinganagar mill, successfully met all of the critical qualities required for hydrogen delivery. The hydrogen qualification tests were conducted at RINA-CSM S.p.A. in Italy, a leading authorising agency for hydrogen testing and characterisation. The new hydrogen-compliant API X65-grade pipes can be utilised to transmit 100 percent pure gaseous hydrogen at high pressure (100 bar).

According to Prabhat Kumar, Vice President of Marketing & Sales (Flat Products) of Tata Steel, “Tata Steel has always been at the forefront of developing technologies for manufacturing critical steel grades. The successful testing of the new ERW pipes demonstrates our capabilities to deliver critical physical infrastructure for the energy sector domestically. We are proud to contribute to India’s National Hydrogen Mission, which by itself is a key component of the country’s ongoing clean energy transition. Tata Steel is proud to be the first Indian steel company to successfully take on this challenge and deliver products to cater to the emerging domestic and global demand for these special grade steel pipes.”

Tata Steel’s R&D team has been working hard to develop innovative and sustainable hydrogen transportation and storage systems. In this example, the full technology development process, from design and development of the hot-rolled steel to pipe manufacture, was completed in-house. Tata Steel will also be the first Indian steel company to develop hot-rolled steel for gaseous hydrogen transportation by 2024.

The National Hydrogen Mission will enable India to develop the capacity to produce at least 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen per year by 2030, with the potential to reach 10 MMT per year with increased demand for exports, which would necessitate significant investments in generation and transportation. The need for steel complying with hydrogen transportation is estimated to begin in 2026–27, with a total steel requirement of 350 KT spread over the next 5-7 years. While there are different methods for transporting hydrogen, steel tubes are regarded as more economically viable for mass delivery.

For more details, visit: https://www.tatasteel.com/

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