Work is underway to prepare the Port Talbot steelplant for the construction of one of the world’s largest Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF), with the existing building being stripped back to a shell before installation begins.

Chris Scourfield, project engineer for the enabling works, said the area was previously the busiest part of the steel and slab plant, where up to 5 million tons a year of molten iron from two blast furnaces was treated and converted into liquid steel. Transformation work began after steelmaking stopped in 2024, with the removal of equipment at the north end of the plant, including fume hoods, rail tracks, weighing scales, and desulphurisation stations.

The cleared area will be used for refractory replacement and repair of EAF shells and steel teeming ladles. Preparations are also underway to remove the 500-tonne South Charger crane by cutting an opening in the roof. At the south end, former scrap bays, workshops, and the teeming bay have been removed to make space for the EAF and two new ladle metallurgy furnaces. Groundworks will create foundations for new structures, with further equipment expected later this year.