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.
BW Ideol, ABP To Explore Serial Production Of Floating Wind Foundations At Port Talbot
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
BW Ideol and Associated British Ports (ABP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the manufacturer of concrete floating wind foundations and ABP investigating the feasibility of serial production at Port Talbot. The MOU has been signed in preparation for the Celtic Sea leasing round, BW Ideol said on Monday (11 December).
These two paragraphs outline the plans of BW Ideol and ABP have for Port Talbot.
According to the company, Port Talbot is the only Celtic Sea port with the scale and technical capabilities to fully maximise the Celtic Sea supply chain opportunity and is ideally located as a manufacturing base since it lies 120-140 kilometres from the floating offshore wind areas outlined by The Crown Estate for the upcoming leasing round.
The news on the MOU between ABP and BW Ideol comes shortly after ABP announced plans to invest around GBP 500 million (approximately EUR 573 million) to upgrade a site in Port Talbot and turn it into a major floating offshore wind hub.
This Google Map shows Port Talbot Port.
Note.
- It also looks like there is a Heidelberg Cement facility at the South side of the port.
- Port Talbot also has a Tata steelworks.
- The railway and the M4 Motorway are nearby.
- There’s certainly a lot of water.
The port appears well-placed for raw materials and there is quite a bit of free space to build and launch the concrete floaters.
This page on the BW Ideol web site describes their Floatgen demonstrator.
The first section is headed by BW Ideol’s First Floater In Operation, where this is said.
Built around a European consortium of 7 partners, Floatgen is a 2MW floating wind turbine demonstrator installed off the coast of Le Croisic on the offshore experimentation site of the Ecole Centrale de Nantes (SEM-REV). This project is being supported by the European Union as part of the FP7 programme. Floatgen is France’s first offshore wind turbine. 5 000 inhabitants are supplied with its electricity.
It looks like it is or almost is a proven system.
The page talks of two large benefits.
- Innovation at all levels.
- The highest local content of any floating wind turbine.
For the second, the following is said
In comparison to other steel floating foundations, which are imported from abroad, the use of concrete for BW Ideol’s floating foundation allows the construction to be located as close as possible to the deployment site. Construction at the Saint-Nazaire port was therefore a natural and optimal solution and has created a lot of local content. Additionally, the mooring system was manufactured by LeBéon Manufacturing in Brittany. For the majority of all other components or logistical activities, the Floatgen partners have also opted for suppliers within the Saint-Nazaire region.
Note.
- Will ABP and BW Ideol use a similar philosophy at Port Talbot?
- Will low-carbon concrete be used to construct the floaters?
I can certainly see the logic of BW Ideol and ABP getting together at Port Talbot.
Denmark Hill Station – 4th September 2021
The article on Rail Technology Magazine is entitled Denmark Hill Station First To Use Innovative Solar Technology In Europe.
The first two paragraphs describe the technology.
Denmark Hill station has become the first train station in Europe to have BIPVco’s Flextron thin film technology installed, on top of other upgrades, following a £7.5m extension.
The sophisticated and flexible solar panels are different from traditional ‘glass like’ panels, requiring no additional weight support, and will be used across other stations going forward.
Note.
- In the application of the technology at Denmark Hill station, a surplus of electricity is returned to the grid.
- BIPVco is a company based in South Wales, that evolved from research by Tata Steel and Swansea University, with the backing of the Welsh Government.
- The panels are lightweight, flexible, durable and self-cleaning.
Many years ago, I put up a barn based on timber beams, which had a sheet steel roof. These panels would be ideal for many agricultural buildings, like the one I commissioned.
These are pictures I took at Denmark Hill station, this morning.
Note.
- The original station was designed by Charles Henry Driver.
- The new entrance displays a high degree of craftsmanship, especially in the brickwork.
- The coffee and gluten-free cake I had in FCB Coffee were excellent.
- The station has its own pub; The Phoenix.
According to Network Rail, it has already been nominated for two architectural awards.
The Anonymous Widower 