ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel's new steel mill in Gujrat will use an electric powertrain that will be launched by ABB

On September 20, 2023, ABB India announced that it would work together with SMS Group to provide all of the MV motors and MV drives for ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel's new hot strip plant in Hazira, Gujarat. The scope also covers a sizable number of low-voltage (LV) drives.

The new hot strip mill at Hazira by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel is part of a substantial expansion of the plant. The new mill will start operating in 2025, increasing Hazira's annual output capacity by about 5.5 million tons per year.

ABB India in its release said, “The hot strip mill will roll thick slabs of cast steel into thin strips suitable for industrial customers. ABB is supplying and installing 13 MV drives and 16 large MV motors. These will form the drivetrain for the two key elements of the operation, the roughing mill and the finishing mill.” The release also adds, “In addition to the MV equipment, ABB is also supplying 14 LV multidrives line ups and 256 LV inverters to support auxiliary services.”

Any variations in the load on the motors during rolling operations will be quickly and precisely responded to by the direct torque control (DTC) technology included in ABB's drives. The best possible quality of the completed steel product will be guaranteed by this precise control. In other areas of the operation, the MV drives' multidrives capabilities will be used to operate four motors simultaneously, minimizing the installation footprint and maximizing energy savings.

ABB in its release added, “According to SMS Group the expansion of the Hazira plant is a very high-profile project that will enable the future transfer of carbon-neutral steel technology, which is currently under development by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel. That is why they decided to work in partnership with ABB to utilize its proven expertise in providing reliable, high-performance powertrain solutions for the demanding applications found in steel mills.”