Tata Steel Nederland has applied for an updated nature permit covering its entire IJmuiden steelmaking complex in the Netherlands. The application went to the North Holland North Environmental Service as Tata prepares for its broader Green Steel Project and additional investments meant to reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and other emissions. Tata’s existing nature permit dates to 2016, and the company said an update was already anticipated after 10 years. Changed Dutch legal interpretation around nitrogen rules has added another reason to update it now. Something important to note – the application does not mean the Green Steel Project is fully permitted. 

DRI and Electric Steelmaking Would Replace Coal

The first phase of Tata Steel Nederland’s plan would replace Blast Furnace 7 and Coke and Gas Plant 2 with a direct reduced iron plant and electric arc furnace. The shift would substantially reduce the coal required to make steel at IJmuiden while increasing the use of recycled steel scrap. An independent technical assessment prepared for the Dutch government estimates the first phase could reduce direct CO₂ emissions by approximately 5.4 million metric tons annually. That is more than 40% below a current maximum baseline of 12.6 million tons. The DRI plant is expected to run initially on natural gas. Tata says the facility is designed to transition to biomethane or hydrogen once those fuels reach sufficient scale and competitive cost, without technical modifications. That gives the company a path to cut coal consumption without depending on near-term hydrogen availability, a caution echoed by ArcelorMittal’s decision to pause a similar green steel project in Germany over hydrogen costs. Tata has said further reductions could come from switching the DRI process toward biomethane and hydrogen over time, with carbon capture and storage also under consideration as an interim measure.

Environmental Investment Is Already Reaching the Plant

The transition is also producing investments outside the steelmaking furnaces themselves. Tata has installed a new DeNOx installation at its pellet plant. The company expects it to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from that specific process by approximately 80% compared with 2019 levels, though commissioning still depends on regulatory permit approvals. A related dust-removal installation at the same plant carries a total investment of $232 (€200) million and is designed to cut lead, heavy metals, and dust emissions there by a similar 80%. Environmental and water permits are still required before the DeNOx equipment can be fully commissioned.

The Dutch government has separately pledged up to $2.32 (€2) billion toward the broader Green Steel Project under a non-binding agreement, supplemented by roughly $348 (€300) million from the EU Innovation Fund, a funding pattern similar to how other large green steel projects have stacked public and private capital to get built. The rest would come from Tata Steel Nederland’s own cash flow, project debt, and support from its parent company.

That agreement and several permitting and investment decisions remain unfinished, and a final investment decision still rests with Tata Steel’s board. Tata’s 2026 reporting, nevertheless, shows engineering contracts have already been awarded for the planned DRI and electric arc furnace facilities. That work sits alongside a broader industrial push toward using hydrogen and biomethane to replace natural gas in heavy industrial processes.