Tata Steel, one of the largest steel makers in India and globally,  has contracted 27 electric commercial vehicles, each with a carrying capacity of 35 tonnes of steel (minimum). The company has tied up with a start-up to use e-CVs for transporting its finished steel.

This initiative marks the first-ever deployment of EVs by any steel producer in the country for transportation of finished steel. Tata Steel plans to deploy 15 EVs at its Jamshedpur plant and 12 EVs at its Sahibabad plant. The first set of EVs for Tata Steel are being put in operation between Tata Steel BSL’s Sahibabad Plant and Pilkhuwa Stockyard in Uttar Pradesh.

The loaded e-CVs were formally flagged off on July 29 at the Pilkhuwa Stockyard as they left for the Sahibabad plant, 38km away.

Dibyendu Bose, VP, Supply Chain, Tata Steel said: “It is a great occasion for us today as we are launching EVs to move steel on the JRD Tata’s 117th birth anniversary. This initiative is aimed at reduction of GHG emissions and will help protect the environment in the long run. It was our CEO and MD who gave us the inspiration to go for EVs and contribute towards achieving our sustainability goals. I am glad to see our team’s commitment to have made this possible and to find the right partner that has enabled us to deploy EVs in our supply chain. It is the beginning of a new era for Tata Steel and the supply chain division and I wish them all success.”

Peeyush Gupta, VP – Supply Chain, (Designate) said: “Tata Steel has been a pioneer in introducing path-breaking initiatives in the past as well. While we have multiple initiatives focussed on customer service, this is a definitive step towards our commitment to environment. This initiative is also aligned to the Government’s larger climate agenda and will surely serve as a cornerstone and a way forward for the industry to follow.”

In terms of technical specification, the electric CVs comprise a 2.2-tonne 230.4 kWh lithium-ion battery pack which can operate at ambient temperatures upto 60-deg Celsius. The battery pack is powered by a 160-kWh charger setup which can fully charge the battery in 90 minutes. With zero tail-pipe emissions, each eCV will reduce the GHG footprint by more than 125 tCO2e every year.