Tata Steel becomes India’s first steel company to demonstrate end-to-end capabilities to develop pipes for the transportation of H2, marking a significant milestone towards achieving the country’s National Hydrogen Mission.
The API X65 ERW pipes processed at Tata Steel’s Khopoli plant, using the steel manufactured at the Company’s Kalinganagar plant, successfully achieved all the critical properties required for H2 transportation. The H2 qualification tests were carried out at RINA-CSM S.p.A, Italy, a leading approving agency for H2-related testing and characterization. The new H2-compliant API X65 grade pipes can be used for the transportation of 100% pure gaseous H2 under high pressure (100 bar).
Prabhat Kumar, Vice President - Marketing & Sales (Flat Products), Tata Steel, 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. 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 Research and Development team has been extensively engaged in developing innovative and sustainable solutions for H2 transportation and storage. In this case, the complete technology development, from the design and development of the hot rolled steel to the pipe manufacturing, was done entirely in-house. In 2024, Tata Steel also became the first Indian steel company to produce hot-rolled steel for the transportation of gaseous H2.
National Hydogrn Mission will enable India to build capabilities to produce at least 5 metric MMtpy of green H2 by 2030, with the potential to reach 10 MMtpy with additional demand for exports which would require substantial investments in generation and transportation. The demand for steel compliant with H2 transportation is expected to start from 2026-27, with the total steel requirement of 350KT spanning over the next 5 yr to 7 yr. While various mechanisms of H2 transportation are available, steel pipelines are considered economically more viable for mass transportation.