TATA STEEL’S UK arm has joined hands with the Bessemer Society as the sole metals industry sponsor of the technology and innovation forum.
Britain’s largest steelmaker said the tie-up is a “win-win” for the company as the new technologies which the “Society brings to the fore” could help it become a carbon-neutral manufacturer.
The Society, which counts Rolls-Royce as its national sponsor, acts as a platform to bring together entrepreneurs, academics, British Government funding bodies and investors and encourage “hard-tech” innovation.
It is named after the 19th-century inventor and entrepreneur Sir Henry Bessemer whose innovation in 1856 enabled a cost-efficient process for making steel.
Tata Steel says its basic oxygen steelmaking plant is a “direct descendant” of his pioneering work.
“We are proud to step forward to sponsor the Bessemer Society and its activity programme,” Tata Steel UK’s R&D director Sumitesh Das said in a statement.
“This is very much a ‘win-win’ for us as the novel, emerging technologies which the society brings to the fore include many innovations which could play a vital role in our journey to net-zero steelmaking in the UK.”
According to the Society’s founder and convener Alex Stewart, the company will be a “key player” in Britain’s efforts to decarbonise industries.
“I am delighted to welcome Tata Steel into our ranks and I look forward to a very vibrant engagement as the UK transitions to its decarbonised and sustainable future industrial base, in which Tata Steel will be a key player.”
