It has been five years since Tata Steel took over Corus (now Tata Steel Europe) in January 2007. As part of the deal came the modern R&D centre that Corus had. Mark B Denys, chief of Tata Steel R&D and Scientific Services, tells FE?s Arindam Sinha in an interview over mail what Tata Steel gained from the R&D centre and vice-versa. Excerpts:

Tata Steel Europe is said to have a lot of technologies. Which are some of the technologies worth bringing to India from a demand-supply point of view?

A range of technologies are being shared. They relate to all areas of steel making processes, products and services. For example, Tata Steel Europe has developed strong practices by way of optimising the blending of various coals it buys across the world. The effect is higher productivity and better energy efficiency. In India we rely on local raw materials, but we have found that some of these techniques, for quality control in raw materials, are worthwhile here, too. Another example concerns products and product services. With the experience in Tata Steel Europe we are stronger in responding to customer needs. But technology does not flow in one direction only. One example is a fuzzy logic control system that we developed in India. We took it to The Netherlands where it has improved the performance of the thin slab caster process.

The ongoing 6 mtpa greenfield project at Kalinganagar is good ground to implement new technology… What are some of the novel things which have been planned for the plant?

We will build the largest blast furnace in India. We will use the latest technology to produce high quality flat products and we will be able offer a range of new products such as dual phase and TRIP (transformation-induced plasticity) steels (both of high-strength). Some of this product technology we can transfer from Europe and some we are developing here.

Yes, greenfield plants are superb opportunities to buy the latest state-of-the-art technology, but world-first technologies are best tried in existing plants. Breakthrough technologies need a good breeding ground. Bringing the latest technology to a greenfield site is already a big challenge, because the organisation there will be relatively ?green? too.

What has been the company?s R&D budget for 2010-11 and 2011-12? Is Tata Steel Europe also engaged in R&D activities on its own today or is it a centralised team?

In 2010-11 and 2011-12 our total expenditure on R&D across the Tata Steel Group was around R640 crore each year. We operate five research centres: One in The Netherlands, three in the UK and one in India. Combined we have a workforce of just over 1,000. So you can imagine that we work on many innovations for all our businesses. Since the takeover of Corus (now Tata Steel Europe), we coordinate these centres globally. Each of the five centres has its specialism and each caters to the needs of local operations.

Why do only a few steel companies strike a gold mine by discovering cheaper steel making routes like Corex/Finex, while others draw a blank even though they spend handsome amounts on R&D? Is there any possibility of Tata Steel developing such a path-breaking, commercially viable steel making process in the near future?

It?s a provocative question. Let me try one too… If Corex or Finex are indeed a gold mine, would you not have expected to see a gold rush? Corex and Finex are processes for ironmaking. In all, I believe, less than 10 plants have been built. Corex has been commercial since the late 1980s. Finex is an improved variant that was commercialised six years ago. Such large developments do draw a lot of attention, but it does not mean that less ambitious projects draw a blank. In Tata Steel we make a clear distinction between R&D for continuous improvement and R&D for breakthrough innovation. We believe that we need both forms. It is a question of balance.

For breakthroughs we focus our R&D in India on the development of advanced steel grades, advanced coatings and novel technologies for efficient use of our raw materials. For example, we are pioneering new technology to reclaim iron from ultra fine fractions that are presently not usable. We are also developing technologies to refine low-grade high-ash coals to high grade clean coals.

In Europe we are working on a real breakthrough process in ironmaking. In fact, we are a leading partner in the ULCOS project, which stands for Ultra Low CO2 steel making. It is a consortium of 48 companies and institutes to develop radically new technologies and reduce CO2 emissions by 50%.

We have spent R450 crore in exploring new technologies, and we have taken the first steps to start industrialising the ironmaking technologies of the future. One such technology is Hisarna which requires high-tech engineering to withstand temperatures of up to 2,500 degrees. When we succeed it would be the most energy-efficient ironmaking process, beating today?s best technology by 25%. The consortium has already spent about R100 crore on this process, but full industrialisation will take much more time and money ? I expect about 10 years? time and an expenditure of around R3,000 crore. These kind of figures show why very few companies (on their own) attempt such projects.

What are the fields in which the company is channelising its energies in the R&D field today under your leadership?

There is plenty opportunity for innovation. I have already discussed the importance of using our natural resources responsibly, so let me concentrate on the needs of our customers? We put a lot of energy in the development of advanced products such as high strength steel grades and advanced coatings. We also look into the aspirations of the rural and semi-urban masses for better housing, infrastructure and mobility. These are exciting times.