SeAH Steel Holdings’ UK Monopile Factory To Launch With Major Offshore Wind Deals
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the CHOSUN Daily.
These three paragraphs give more details.
SeAH Wind, the British offshore wind structure subsidiary of SeAH Steel Holdings, is set to begin commercial operations at its local plant next month, bolstering annual revenue growth projected to reach billions of dollars. The facility has received a total investment of £900 million ($1.1 billion or 1.6 trillion won), and the company has already secured orders surpassing the plant’s construction costs, ensuring a solid foundation for stable operations, according to industry sources.
Located in Teesside, northeastern England, the plant is in the final stages of equipment installation and test production ahead of its commercial launch. The facility has an annual production capacity of up to 400,000 metric tons of monopiles—cylindrical steel structures welded from thick steel plates—which serve as seabed foundations for offshore wind turbines.
The £900 million SeAH Wind plant was established with support from various group affiliates. SeAH Steel Holdings founded SeAH Wind in the UK in 2021, initially investing approximately 400 billion won ($274 million or £217 million) in the facility. Additional funding was secured through capital increases, with contributions from SeAH Steel Holdings, its steel pipe subsidiary SeAH Steel, and overseas branches, including U.S.-based SeAH Steel America and South Korea-based SeAH Steel International.
As the UK’s sole offshore wind monopile supplier, SeAH Wind has attracted significant attention. On Feb. 13, King Charles III visited the plant to inspect its production facilities, underscoring its strategic role in the country’s renewable energy sector.
The plant is making monopiles for the Hornsea 3 and Norfolk Vanguard wind farms.
Ørsted Secures Exclusive Access To Lower-Emission Steel From Dillinger
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Ørsted will be offered the first production of lower-emission steel from German-based Dillinger, subject to availability and commercial terms and conditions. The steel plates are intended to be used for offshore wind monopile foundations in future projects.
These three paragraphs outline the deal.
Under a large-scale supply agreement entered into in 2022, Ørsted will procure significant volumes of regular heavy plate steel from 2024, giving the company access at scale to and visibility of the most crucial raw material in offshore wind while supporting Dillinger to accelerate investments in new lower-emission steel production, according to Ørsted.
The Danish renewable energy giant expects to be able to procure lower-emission steel produced at Dillinger’s facility in Dillingen, Germany, from 2027-2028.
Taking the current technology outlook into account, the reduction of the process-related carbon emissions from production is expected to be around 55-60 per cent compared to conventional heavy plate steel production, Ørsted said.
Increasingly, we’ll see lower emission steel and concrete used for wind turbine foundations.
This press release on the Dillinger web site is entitled Historic Investment For Greater Climate Protection: Supervisory Boards Approve Investment Of EUR 3.5 billion For Green Steel From Saarland.
These are two paragraphs from the press release.
Over the next few years leading up to 2027, in addition to the established blast furnace route, the new production line with an electric arc furnace (EAF) will be built at the Völklingen site and an EAF and direct reduced iron (DRI) plant for the production of sponge iron will be built at the Dillinger plant site. Transformation branding has also been developed to visually represent the transformation: “Pure Steel+”. The message of “Pure Steel+” is that Saarland’s steel industry will retain its long-established global product quality, ability to innovate, and culture, even in the transformation. The “+” refers to the carbon-neutrality of the products.
The availability of green hydrogen at competitive prices is a basic precondition for this ambitious project to succeed, along with prompt funding commitments from Berlin and Brussels. Local production of hydrogen will therefore be established as a first step together with the local energy suppliers, before connecting to the European hydrogen network to enable use of hydrogen to be increased to approx. 80 percent. The Saarland steel industry is thus laying the foundation for a new hydrogen-based value chain in the Saarland, in addition to decarbonizing its own production. In this way, SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar is supporting Saarland on its path to becoming a model region for transformation.
It sounds to me, that Tata Steel could be doing something similar at Port Talbot.
- Tata want to build an electric arc furnace to replace the blast furnaces.
- There will be plenty of green electricity from the Celtic Sea.
- RWE are planning a very large hydrogen electrolyser in Pembroke.
- Celtic Sea offshore wind developments would probably like a supply of lower emission steel on their door-step.
I would suspect, that Welsh steel produced by an electric arc furnace will match the quality of the German steel, that is made the same way.
SeAH Wind Goes On Recruitment Spree For UK Monopile Factory
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
South Korea’s SeAH Wind has started its large-scale drive to recruit for positions including welders, platers, roll bending machine operatives, mechanical and electrical technicians, supervisors, and general operatives for its XXL monopile manufacturing facility on Teesworks, the UK.
These are the first two paragraphs.
Applications will be accepted via the company’s dedicated recruitment website where individuals can sign up for job alerts, register their expressions of interest, and apply directly for jobs.
SeAH Wind will hold events across multiple Teesside towns, including Middlesbrough, Redcar, Cleveland, and Hartlepool over the coming months where more details will be shared about vacancies and training opportunities at the South Bank site.
These three paragraphs talk about the education and training, and the number of jobs.
As part of the recruitment drive, the South Korean firm has also joined forces with Nordic Products and Services and Middlesbrough College to create two programmes under its SeAH Wind Academy programme.
During the 24-week training and development programme, 30 people will be trained to become welders for SeAH Wind.
Once fully operational, it is expected that a total of 750 direct jobs and 1,500 further supply chain jobs are set to come from the SeAH manufacturing facility.
I suspect, this the sort of investment that Teesside needs and will welcome.
German Company To Build XXL Monopile Factory in Denmark
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
German-based Baltic Structures Company (BSC) has revealed that it will build an XXL monopile production factory in Esbjerg, Denmark
These are the first three paragraphs that outline the project.
BSC will build “Europe’s biggest” foundation fabrication site in the Esbjerg Port where it will be able to offer various foundations structures with a more than 100,000-square-metre production area under the roof and an output of up to 200 XXL monopiles per year.
The German company said that the focus of the plant is on structures with dimensions of up to 15 metres in diameter, up to 130 metres in length, and single unit weights of up to 4,000 tonnes.
In addition to monopiles, transition pieces, pin piles, and components for jackets, floating foundations will also be offered, said BSC.
These last three paragraphs sum up, where we are at the moment with European wind turbine foundation manufacture.
In September 2022, Esbjerg Port (Denmark), Oostende Port (Belgium), Groningen Seaports/Eemshaven (the Netherlands), Niedersachsen Port/Cuxhaven (Germany), Nantes-Saint Nazaire Port (France), and Humber (the UK) signed a partnership agreement with an aim to minimise capacity issues.
At the beginning of this year, the six largest European wind ports also signed a mutual declaration to collaborate on an operational and practical level to help bring the new offshore wind capacities across Europe as smoothly as possible.
In January, the Port of Esbjerg, together with US-based Moffatt & Nichol, deployed digital twin technology which could triple the port’s offshore wind capacity.
I also wrote UK And South Korea Help Secure Millions For World’s Largest Monopile Factory, this morning about a new monopole factory on Teesside.
- The Teesside factory is described as the world’s largest.
- On the other hand the Esbjerg Port facility is described as Europe’s biggest foundation fabrication site.
I suspect the Germans and the Koreans are using different engineering dictionaries.
European Offshore Wind Power Targets
Out of curiosity, I looked up the offshore wind capacity, the UK and neighbouring countries are planning before 2030.
- UK – 50 GW
- Germany – 30 GW
- Norway – 30 GW
- The Netherlands – 21 GW
- France – 18 GW
- Denmark – 13 GW
- Italy – 10 GW
- Portugal – 10 GW
- Belgium – 5.4-5.8 GW
- Republic of Ireland – 5 GW
- Spain – 3 GW
Note.
- Norway’s figure relates to 2040.
- Northern Ireland have a target of 1 GW, which I assume is included in the UK total.
- The total is between 195.4 and 195.8 GW.
Given that we could be producing over a quarter of Western Europe’s offshore wind power, the Gods of the Winds must have been British.
UK And South Korea Help Secure Millions For World’s Largest Monopile Factory
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) and South Korea’s export credit agency Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) have helped SeAH Wind to secure GBP 367 million in Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK financing to build the world’s largest wind monopile manufacturing facility.
These three paragraphs outline the story.
UKEF and K-Sure have secured support worth GBP 367 million for South Korean manufacturer SeAH Steel Holding’s construction of a wind tech factory near Redcar, in the Tees Valley.
Issuing its first-ever “Invest-to-Export” loan guarantee to secure overseas investment in British industry, UKEF together with K-Sure has ensured that SeAH Wind UK can fund the construction project – worth almost GBP 500 million – with GBP 367 million in financing from Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK.
SeAH Wind UK, a subsidiary of South Korean steel company SeAH Steel Holding, announced its decision to invest and broke ground at Teesworks Freeport last summer.
The article also says.
- This is SeAH Wind’s first such investment outside Korea.
- The factory will make between 100 and 150 monopiles a year.
- The factory will create 750 jobs when it opens in 2026.
- The factory is conveniently placed for transport to the North Sea.
Everybody seemed to have worked hard during the state visit of the Korean President and his wife.
Close-Up: New Scour Protection Solution That Has Potential To Cut Costs By 70 Pct Inspired By Turtles
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
At the beginning of May, Balmoral presented a scour protection solution that could replace rock dumping and is set to potentially cut costs by up to 70 per cent when compared to this conventional method. In an interview with offshoreWIND.biz, the company revealed that the initial concept behind its new HexDefence system was aimed at a solution for the oil and gas industry but was further developed with the offshore wind industry in mind and that its design was inspired by – turtles.
These first two paragraphs outline HexDefence.
As reported last month, the Scotland-based engineering company introduced HexDefence saying the solution could drastically reduce scour phenomena around fixed offshore wind turbines that cause seabed erosion and a reduction in foundation strength and stiffness.
The structure provides a non-invasive approach to protecting the monopile and the immediate surrounding area and eliminates the need for rock installation which can cost up to 70 per cent more when compared to this new solution, according to Balmoral.
HexDefence has its own section of the Balmoral web site.
In my long career, I have dealt with a lot of fluid flow and I like what Balmoral are doing.
The Next Generation Of Fixed Foundation Wind Farms
This article on offshoreWIND.biz, is entitled Offshore Wind Turbines In 2022: 15 MW Prototypes Starting To Spin In Europe, Chinese Rolling Out 16 MW Models, Windcatcher And VAWTs Secure Demo Projects.
The title itself, shows 15-16 MW wind turbines and the text lists three European 15 MW and two Chinese 16 MW wind turbines, that are being developed.
This paragraph also indicates that Siemens Gamesa are in the running for orders.
So far, the SG 14-236 DD wind turbine has been selected as a preferred option for the Norfolk Vanguard and Boreas wind farms offshore the UK, as well as for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea.
Large turbines with a capacity of 15 MW and upwards appear to be becoming the new normal.
Water depths for these large turbines are forecast to be deeper than the two Norfolk wind-farms, which are between 22 and 40 metres.
This means that foundations will get much larger and heavier.
This article on offshoreWIND.biz, is entitled New Monopile Installation Method Attracts Major Backer, describes a new generation of monopiles as 100-130 metres in length, 12-15 metres in outer diameter, and a weight of up to 5,000 tonnes.
Installing these long and heavy objects safely in deep waters, is not a job for the faint-hearted.
The article describes a new method of installation, which I feel is very elegant.
- The XXXL monopiles are built horizontally.
- They are moved on to the jack-up ship by self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT).
- It appears at least two or possibly up to four monopiles can be carried on the ship.
- They are lifted into the vertical position by a lifting beam.
Note.
- No cranes are involved in the process.
- The lifting beam method of erecting the 5,000 tonne XXXL monopile is simple and very efficient.
- Self-propelled modular transporters were used to install the 2000 tonne subway at Hackney Wick station.
- Rollers are fitted on the ship to ease handling of the monopiles.
I can certainly see this specialised jack-up ship speeding up the installation of these giant monopiles.
Consequences For Floating Wind
I do wonder, if this method of installing fixed foundation wind farms, will allow larger foundations and these may mean that there is less need for the more complex floating wind farms.
Norwegians Developing Monopile Foundation For 100-Metre Depths
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
Monopile foundations are a common fixed foundation for offshore wind farms.
The article starts with this paragraph.
Norway’s Entrion Wind and Techano AS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through which Techano AS will join the ongoing development and test project planned to take place in Kristiansand, Norway for the patent-pending fully restrained platform (FRP) offshore wind foundation technology said to extend the operating depth of the monopile technology to up to 100 metres.
It does seem that the Norwegians are intending to take this type of foundation to new heights. Or is it new depths?
A picture in the article shows a tall monopole held in position by three wires securely anchored in the sea-bed. It reminds me slightly of the sort of flag-poles, that we used to build in Scout camps in the 1960s, using Scout staves, ropes and tent pegs.
But seriously in the 1970s, I did the calculations for a company called Balaena Structures, who were trying to develop a reusable oil and gas platform.
- The company had been started by two Engineering professors from Cambridge University.
- The platforms were formed of a long steel cylinder, which would have been built horizontally in the sort of ship-yards, that were used to build supertankers.
- They were to be floated out horizontally and then turned upright.
- Weight and the gumboot principle would have kept them, in place.
The design also included a square platform on the top end. Originally, they were planning to put the platform on top after erection, but I showed that, it would be possible to erect cylinder and platform, by just allowing water to enter the cylinder.
The project had a somewhat unfulfilling end, in that they never sold the idea to an operator and the company closed.
But I still believe something similar has a future in the offshore energy industry.
It could be a foundation for a wind turbine or possibly as I indicated in The Balaena Lives, it could be used to clear up oil field accidents like Deepwater Horizon.
Could This Be A Design For A Hundred Metre Plus Monopole Foundation?
Construction and installation would be as follows.
- A long cylinder is built in a ship-yard, where supertankers are built.
- One end, which will be the sea-bed end after installation, is closed and has a skirt a couple of metres tall.
- The other end is profiled to take the transition piece that is used as a mount for the wind turbine.
- A float would be added to the top end for tow-out. This will help the cylinder to float and erect.
- Water would be added into the cylinder and, if the dimensions are correct, it will turn through ninety degrees and float vertically.
- It would be towed to a dock, where a large crane on the dock would remove the float and install the turbine.
- The turbine and its foundation would then be towed into place and by adding more water lowered to the sea-bed.
- The float would be reused for the next turbine.
Note.
- The float is needed to nudge the cylinder to turn vertically.
- If the Cambridge professors were right, the skirt and the weight of water would hold it in place.
- Traditional moorings could be added if required.
- No heavy lifts are performed at sea.
- The concept would surely work for a floating turbine as well.
But then what do I know?
I was just a twenty-five year old engineer, mathematician and computer programmer, who did a few calculations and a dynamic simulation fifty years ago.
The Anonymous Widower 