From Tata Pig Iron to the Pig Iron of "China Tiegu"

From Tata to Tiegu: When Indian Resource Giants Encounter China's Pig Iron Efficiency Revolution

Subtitle: The New Competition - Cooperation Ecosystem of the Global High - end Casting Pig Iron Supply Chain
When Tata Steel dropped the bombshell news of a $1.18 billion expansion of its iron ore mines, the global steel industry was anticipating an explosive growth in India's pig iron production capacity. Meanwhile, at the intelligent terminal of Rizhao Port in China, high - end pig iron marked with the "TIEGU" logo was directly reaching foundries in Japan and South Korea within 72 hours through the unmanned inspection channel. This head - on confrontation between resource accumulation and efficiency innovation is reshaping the rules of the global high - end casting pig iron supply chain.

I. The Game between Resource Barriers and Efficiency Breakthrough: The Contest of Two Growth Logics

(1) Tata's In - depth Resource Layout

1. Vertical Integration of Mines
   Tata controls core mine clusters such as Noamundi (with a grade of 63 - 64%) and Joda East. Its self - sufficiency rate of iron ore exceeds 60%. Through the direct supply model of "mine - blast furnace", it has compressed the raw material transportation cost to $28 per ton, 37% lower than that of enterprises purchasing ore externally. Its 独创 "gradient ore blending" technology can precisely match ores of different grades, keeping the blast furnace utilization coefficient stable above 2.1t/m³・d.

   
   

2. Closed - loop Scrap St eel System
   The recycling plant in Rohtak, Haryana, processes 500,000 tons of scrap steel annually. By using the "spectral sorting + blockchain traceability" technology, it creates the "Tata Ferro Baled" brand of scrap steel with an impurity rate controlled below 0.3%, providing high - quality raw materials for electric arc furnace steelmaking.

   
   

3. Digital Carbon Reduction Practices
   A 3D laser scanning system is installed in the blast furnace at Port Talbot in the UK to monitor the erosion status of the furnace lining in real - time. This has stably increased the hot air temperature to 1250°C, reducing the annual coke consumption by 120,000 tons. The AI energy consumption model covers 80% of the production processes such as batching and melting, with the unit energy consumption 9% lower than the industry average.

   
   

(2) China's Path of Efficiency Revolution

1. Breakthrough in Extreme Manufacturing
   The 4500m³ - class blast furnace of Xichang Steel and Vanadium has achieved an annual output of 1.2 million tons of pig iron per furnace, with a utilization coefficient of 2.73t/m³・d (ranking among the top 3 globally for large blast furnaces). Through the technology combination of "oxygen - enriched high - coal injection + intelligent charging", the smelting time per ton of iron has been compressed to 4.2 hours, and the cost has decreased by 410 yuan per ton year - on - year.

   
   

2. Port Hub Network
   Zhoushan Port has built the world's first intelligent bonded warehouse for pig iron. Relying on the "direct pick - up at the ship's side" model, it can reach Japan and South Korea within 72 hours, shortening the turnover period by 15 days compared with India's traditional route through the Strait of Malacca and increasing the inventory turnover rate by 3 times. In 2024, the throughput of high - end pig iron at this port exceeded 2 million tons, accounting for 29% of East Asia's imports.

   
   

3. Leading in Green Smelting
   The SRV® shaft furnace gas circulation system at the Shandong base has achieved a hydrogen - based reduction ratio of 35%, reducing the carbon emissions per ton of iron to 1.1 tons, 15% lower than Tata's electric arc furnace process (1.29 tons), and has taken the lead in passing the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) compliance certification.

   
   

4. Turning Point of the Pattern
   In August 2025, the inventory of pig iron in Chinese factories climbed to 397,600 tons (a weekly increase of 13,400 tons), and the inventory turnover days were stable at 12 days. However, due to the delay in the transportation of externally purchased ore, the utilization rate of the blast furnace at Tata's European factories was forced to drop to 89%. The art of balancing resource independence and efficiency flexibility has become the core proposition of global pig iron competition.

   
   

II. Quality Confrontation: A Comprehensive Comparison from Component Precision to Service Response

(1) Benchmark Case

After the German Bosch Group, a global top - tier automotive turbocharger manufacturer, introduced TIEGU customized pig iron, the crack rate of thin - wall turbocharger housing castings caused by component segregation decreased from 3.2% to 0.1%, the yield rate increased by 11 percentage points, and the annual rework cost savings exceeded 2 million euros. Component precision has become the "life - and - death line" for high - end casting.

III. Scenario Positioning: The Competition - Cooperation Map of Three High - value Markets

(1) Market Perspective

In 2024, China's export value of high - end casting pig iron increased by 27% year - on - year, with customized products accounting for 67% (data from the General Administration of Customs). Its share in high - end fields such as automotive precision castings and medical devices has reached 31%, confirming the market penetration of the "small - batch, fast - response" model.

IV. Ecosystem Symbiosis: The Global Collaborative Path of Resources and Technologies

(1) Tata's Digital Transformation Process

Its three "lighthouse factories" have achieved full - link visualization of orders, production, and logistics through the Aashiyana platform, compressing the delivery cycle from 7 days to 72 hours. However, the technical adaptability of the local supply chain in India limits its globalization replication speed.

(2) China's Construction of a Technology - export Ecosystem

The hydrogen - based pig iron project jointly developed by Shandong Steel and Indonesia has completed the feasibility study and is planned to be put into operation in 2026. By combining Tata's expertise in tropical iron ore pre - treatment technology with China's hydrogen reduction process, the goal is to reduce carbon emissions per ton of iron to 0.8 tons.

(3) Breakthrough in Collaboration

When Tata's technology of replacing dolomite with olivine (reducing the coke ratio by 21kg/thm) is combined with China's SRV® shaft furnace hydrogen circulation system, a composite process of "low coke consumption + high hydrogen ratio" can be formed, which is expected to further reduce carbon emissions by 12%, providing a "hybrid solution" for the zero - carbon transformation of the global steel industry. This complementarity between resources and technologies may reshape the global pig iron competition rules in the next decade.