Posted on 30 Jan 2025
Tata Steel (TSL) has become the first Indian company to develop pipes for hydrogen transportation, Kallanish notes, marking a significant milestone towards the country’s National Hydrogen Mission.
The National Hydrogen Mission aims to build India’s production capabilities to at least 5 million tonnes/year of green hydrogen by 2030, with the potential to reach 10mt/y with additional demand for exports, which would require substantial investments in generation and transportation.
Tata Steel processed the API X65 ERW pipes at its Khopoli plant in Maharashtra, using the steel manufactured at its Kalinganagar plant in Odisha. It successfully achieved all the critical properties required for hydrogen transportation.
The new hydrogen-compliant API X65 grade pipes can be used for the transportation of 100% pure gaseous hydrogen under high pressure (100 bar), TSL notes.
TSL’s vice president, marketing and sales (flat products), Prabhat Kumar says: “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,” Kumar adds.
In 2024, TSL was also the first Indian steel company to produce hot-rolled steel for the transportation of gaseous hydrogen.
TSL has said that demand for steel compliant with hydrogen transportation is expected to start from 2026-27, with the total steel requirement of 350,000t spanning over the next five-seven years. It added that while various mechanisms of hydrogen transportation are available, steel pipelines are considered economically more viable for mass transportation.
Source:Kallanish
