Tata Steel sets up an Innovation Centre for Mining and Mineral Research

(Posted on 08/02/23)

Tata Steel has established a Centre for Innovation in Mining and Mineral Beneficiation at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad.

Tata Steel group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes per annum.

The Company aims to strengthen its long-term competitiveness through excellence in developing technological solutions in natural and urban mining and beneficiation for value from low grade and difficult ores. The Centre will enable growth of relevant research infrastructure, attract talent, and help strengthen industry-academia collaborative eco-system in areas of strategic national importance. Creation of this Centre is aligned to Tata Steel’s focus on building closer ties with centres of academic excellence and set up technology clusters in identified, strategic areas.

Dr Debashish Bhattacharjee, Vice President, Technology and New Materials Business, Tata Steel, said: “Collaboration between industry and academia is key to catalysing innovation and aiding sustainable business growth. IIT (ISM) Dhanbad provides a strong academic and research platform with excellent talent pool in one of the areas of Tata Steel’s strategic, long- and short-term business interests - mining and mineral beneficiation. With the creation of this Centre for Innovation with Rs 22cr from Tata Steel, we look forward to jointly develop and scale up technologies relevant for local mines and ores. Work at this centre will cover technology development for natural and urban mining. The Centre will also work on beneficiation and value addition of low-grade ores. Tata Steel is committed to pioneer disruptive development through active engagement with academic institutions.”

Prof. Rajiv Shekhar Director Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) said: We are delighted to establish this Centre of Excellence (CoE) with Tata Steel Limited in the form of “Tata Steel Innovation Centre on Mining and Mineral Research (ICMMR) at IIT(ISM) Dhanbad” to strengthen Industry-Institute collaborations and solve real-life problems of mutual interest. IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, a world-renowned Institute in the fields of Mining, Mineral & Earth Sciences, is extremely pleased to work with Tata Steel Limited on this path-breaking initiative. Academia and industry need to forge such symbiotic partnerships that bring benefits to both. Such collaborative efforts will be instrumental in advancing research and innovation in technology development, besides creating a skilled workforce. Through this joint collaboration, we look forward to leveraging the latest technological advancements to groom our researchers and work towards the development of sustainable, innovative processes for a green and safe future.”

Technology-enabled leadership is expected to have a significant impact on India's share of global trade in the emerging knowledge economy. Given the complexities of technical issues in indigenous raw materials, it is critical that industry and academia collaborate to achieve technology leadership, research excellence, and breakthrough technological solutions of national significance.

IIT (ISM) Dhanbad is a prestigious institute of eminence and capability, that will contribute technological thought leadership and further strengthen Tata Steel's Research & Development prowess. The Innovation Center is strategically located to leverage the advantages of other nearby research institutes, regulatory bodies, and, more importantly, a trained and skilled workforce. The Center would be one of its kind in the state of Jharkhand and will target attracting youth towards Research and Development. The center will further aim to achieve research excellence by attracting renowned experts and forming strategic partnerships with OEMs to provide complete solutions.

With a century plus experience in sourcing raw material through scientific research & development and sustainable mining, Tata Steel’s long-term strategy has been designed to develop existing raw material resources and achieve raw material security across its global operations. The concerted research and development efforts of Tata Steel and IIT (ISM) in the mining and minerals domain will strengthen India's position to better utilize local resources and strengthen the skills of miners in the country.