Months after Ratan Tata’s death, Tata Group creates history, becomes first company in India to…

Tata Steel, a subsidiary of the expansive Tata Group conglomerate, has become the first Indian steel company to develop pipes for hydrogen transportation.

In a major achievement, Tata Steel, a subsidiary of the expansive Tata Group conglomerate, has become the first Indian steel company to develop pipes for hydrogen transportation, marking a significant milestone in the country’s hydrogen mission. According to a company statement, the pipes, processed at Tata Steel’s Khopoli plant using steel manufactured at its Kalinganagar plant, have successfully met all the critical properties required for hydrogen transportation.

The complete technology development, from designing and manufacturing hot-rolled steel to producing the pipes, was done entirely in-house, demonstrating Tata Steel’s ability to deliver critical energy infrastructure, the statement said.

In 2024, Tata Steel became the first Indian steel company to produce hot-rolled steel for the transportation of gaseous hydrogen. “The hydrogen qualification tests were carried out at RINA-CSM S.P.A, Italy, a leading approving agency for hydrogen-related testing and characterisation,” the statement added.

The new hydrogen-compliant API X65 grade pipes can be used for transportation of 100 per cent pure gaseous hydrogen under high pressure (100 bar), it said.

“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,” said Prabhat Kumar, vice-president – marketing & sales (flat products), Tata Steel.

“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.”

About Tata Group

The achievement comes months after the salt-to-software conglomerate lost its Chairman Emeritus, Ratan Tata, who died due to age-related issues at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on October 9, 2024. He was 86.

Following Ratan Tata’s demise, his half-brother Noel Tata, 67, was picked as the new chairman of Tata Trusts, an umbrella group of charities which holds 66% stake in Tata Sons — the holding company of Tata Group.

The Tata Group, established by its founder Jamshedji Nasirwanji Tata in 1868 when he bought a bankrupt oil mill for Rs 21,000, a massive amount at the time, and turned it into a cotton factory, has today grown into a global juggernaut with over 100 companies spread in more than 100 countries, boasting a market cap of $403 billion (roughly Rs 33.7 trillion).

(With PTI inputs)