Tata signs deal for new multi-million-pound acid recovery plant in Port Talbot
Tata Steel has signed a major contract with global engineering firm ANDRITZ to build a state-of-the-art acid recovery plant (ARP) in Port Talbot.
The multi-million-pound agreement will see the Austrian technology group design, supply and commission a closed-loop ARP to support Tata Steel’s new pickling line, which cleans hot-rolled steel before it is further processed for uses ranging from cars and washing machines to building cladding.
The investment is part of the company’s wider restructuring and decarbonisation plan for its UK operations—funded jointly by £750 million from Tata Steel and £500 million from the UK Government—which will see the Port Talbot steelworks move to greener production methods.
The new ARP will regenerate and recycle hydrochloric acid used in the pickling process, cutting the need for the delivery and disposal of vast quantities of acid.
ARP Project Manager Paul Boxer said the plant would “regenerate the used acid, providing a consistent quality acid, removing the need for importing vast quantities of acid from overseas and exporting the spent liquids”.
Programme Manager Andrew McGregor described the deal as “a big step to decarbonise our pickling operations”.
He added: “This is not only good news for our own process stability and costs, it’s also good for the environment, reducing our acid deliveries and collections from around 25 tankers a week to maybe two or three a month.”
Construction of the new facility is due to begin in January 2027, with commissioning later that year. Once operational, the plant will be capable of regenerating up to 6,340 litres of waste acid per hour, supporting both current and future pickling capacity as the site expands from 1.2 million to 1.8 million tonnes per year.
Tata Steel says the new system will also deliver significant cuts in emissions, thanks to ANDRITZ’s latest exhaust-cleaning technology and support energy efficiency through the system’s integrated ECOmode function.
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Yet more evidence to counter Farage’s assertion that nothing would ever be built at Port Talbot.
Can we have a few statistics please from nation.cymru:
Tata jobs in Port Talbot
2023
2024
2025
2026 to 2030 predicted
New roles actually created by Welsh government 2023 to 2025
Plus summary of potential new roles.
I’m not sure why you felt the need to reply to my post with this request to nation.cymru, as I believe you’d be better off contacting TATA and the contractors involved for such information.
Nevertheless, I can at least let you know that as of September 2025, there were about 350 workers involved in clearing some 400,000 tonnes of material from the site, with an additional 200 within Tata Steel UK involved in the project.
The expectation is that between 1,000 and 1,200 will be needed as construction begins in earnest.
Actually this investment supports his assertion that port talbot will be a rolling mill for Indian steel.
In an interview last June, Farage said that he didn’t believe the electric arc furnace would “ever be switched on”. Construction started the following month.
The possibility of a rolling mill as part of TATA’s wider investment in Port Talbot has been discussed.
Good news that investment is moving forward at the plant with positives in reducing tanker movements and waste. Who have thought – pickling steel – not quite as tasty as onions.