Tata Steel, Welspun Corp develop hydrogen-compliant grades steel pipes

Tata Steel and Welspun Corp have jointly developed hydrogen-compliant grade steel pipes for transportation of the gaseous hydrogen, a statement said on Friday.

The development assumes significance as hydrogen transportation is critical for its usage in different sectors.

"Tata Steel and Welspun Corp achieved the significant milestone of developing hydrogen compliant API X65 grade pipes, which successfully surpassed all necessary critical sour service and fracture qualification tests for transportation of 100 per cent pure gaseous hydrogen under high pressure at RINA, Italy," Tata Steel said in a statement.

Tata Steel and Welspun Corp have become the first Indian companies to produce electric resistance welded (ERW) pipes for transportation of gaseous hydrogen, it said.

In 2022, Tata Steel and Welspun Corp entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to develop hydrogen-compliant API-grade pipes through the ERW Pipe route.

As part of the partnership, Tata Steel said it has supplied hot-rolled coils for the project from its Kalinganagar plant in Odisha, while Welspun Corp manufactured ERW pipes.

Prabhat Kumar, Vice President, Marketing & Sales (Flat Products), at Tata Steel, said: "The production of hydrogen-compliant pipes marks a critical advancement in our journey towards clean energy solutions. Through this, we are laying the groundwork for a more robust infrastructure and ecosystem necessary for the widespread adoption of green hydrogen, thereby encouraging the transition to a greener and more sustainable future".

Welspun Corp Managing Director and CEO Vipul Mathur said the partnership with Tata Steel enables them to jointly adopt and build awareness towards the usage of green hydrogen. This achievement is in line with the government's vision for a net-zero economy by 2070.