SAIL taps ABB India for digital overhaul of Rourkela steel plant

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), one of India's largest public sector steelmakers, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ABB India to drive digital transformation at its flagship Rourkela Steel Plant in Odisha.

The collaboration will focus on deploying data-driven models and developing digital twins of the plant’s blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces in the steel melt shop. This initiative aims to improve operational efficiency, boost product quality, extend asset life, and support sustainability goals.

Rourkela Steel Plant, which produced 4.08 million tonnes of saleable steel in FY25, has an ambitious target to more than double output to around 9 million tonnes by 2030. The partnership with ABB India is expected to help SAIL realise this goal by optimising its ironmaking and steelmaking processes using advanced digital tools.

“The development of this digital twin technology will transform our steel manufacturing processes by providing us real-time insights into furnace operations,” said Biswa Ranjan Palai, Executive Director (Works), SAIL. “This will enable us to optimise our performance, improve product quality, increase asset longevity and remain competitive in the global market.”

ABB India will bring its expertise in automation, electrification, and data modelling to the project. “By integrating advanced data-driven models and leveraging digital twin technologies, we aim to revolutionise the steelmaking processes,” said Kapil Agarwal, Senior Vice President & Local Division Manager, Process Industries, ABB India.

India’s steel industry is expected to grow significantly, with domestic demand projected to rise 9–10% in FY25, offering fertile ground for digitally enabled efficiencies and sustainability-focused innovations. The partnership comes amid tightening environmental standards and a push towards cost efficiency and competitiveness in the global steel market.

This collaboration also marks a milestone for ABB India, which is celebrating 75 years of operations in the country, delivering electrification, automation, and digital solutions across key sectors including steel, mining, cement, and energy.

Separately, the maharatna PSU said, in an exchange filing, that its board is scheduled to meet next week, on May 28th, to announce the results of the fourth quarter and full-year 2025 results, and recommend a dividend for the financial year, if any.