Tata Steel, Imperial College London Ink MoU

Tata Steel will invest £10 million over four years in this Centre for Innovation

Mumbai: Tata Steel has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Imperial College London to establish the Centre for Innovation in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing in London. This collaboration aims to expedite technology development in crucial areas, attract talent, and fortify the industry-academia collaborative ecosystem. Tata Steel is set to invest £10 million over a four-year period to support this initiative.

The focal points of the Centre will revolve around four key themes initially: manufacturing for the future economy, smart manufacturing, sustainable multi-material joining technologies, and net-zero construction technologies. The Center’s primary focus will be on sustainable material manufacturing, encompassing the design and development of downstream processes with low-CO2, low-energy, and low-cost footprints.

The objective is to harness Imperial’s engineering and design partner ecosystem to develop multi-material solutions with sustainability integrated into the processes for manufacturing components.

T. V. Narendran, CEO & MD of Tata Steel, expressed, “The Centre for Innovation is a crucial element of Tata Steel’s broader commitment to forge robust industry-academia partnerships for technological advancement. The Centre at Imperial serves as a robust academic and research platform, housing an excellent talent pool. Our aim is to merge research excellence with industry experience to pioneer technology solutions for a more sustainable future. This initiative underscores Tata Steel’s steadfast dedication to building a knowledge-intensive organization.”

Dr. Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President of Technology and R&D at Tata Steel, emphasized, “The Centre at Imperial will concentrate on designing and developing sustainable solutions. Sustainability should not be an afterthought but must be ingrained in the production process and materials design. Tata Steel is devoted to championing disruptive technologies through active collaboration, and I am eager to collaborate with a distinguished academic institution like Imperial on the journey toward technology leadership and sustainable business growth.”

Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College London and co-chair of the Governing Council of the Centre, highlighted, “Leveraging the combined expertise of Imperial and Tata Steel, this new Centre will strive to minimize the environmental impact in steel production and key sectors utilizing steel, such as the clean energy sector. Prioritizing the systematic transformation of industrial systems is essential for creating a zero-pollution future. The Centre will play a pivotal role in contributing to the establishment of a high-tech and economically prosperous steel industry, both in the UK and globally.”