Fuelling the renewable energy revolution

According to REN21, the global multi-stakeholder network focused on renewable energy policy, renewable energy now accounts for around one-third of total installed power generation capacity worldwide. Given the need to for the world to continue its transition to a low-carbon economy, the renewable energy revolution needs to continue apace in the coming decades. And the material that sits at the heart of delivering this revolution is steel.

From on-shore and off-shore wind turbines to solar installations worldwide, our innovative steel solutions play a central role in delivering the energy infrastructure the world needs. In fact, clean energy sources like wind and solar are dependent on steel and are more steel-intensive than traditional fossil-fuel power plants and infrastructure.

Wind power

More than 80% of the components in a typical wind turbine are made from steel. We’re a leading supplier of specialist steels to the wind energy industry, supplying heavy plates and coils for towers, reinforcing bars and ballast for foundations, and electrical steels for generators.

Our customer Dacero, based in Aviles in Northern Spain, close to our steel mill there, manufactures the towers on which wind turbines are mounted. The process of constructing these towers from flat heavy plate is highly skilled, including the use of hand and eye to perfectly judge the curvature of the tower sections, as seen above. 

Solar energy

For solar energy, we provide the high-performance steels, coatings and structural solutions that the latest generation of solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal installations are built from.

For example, our steels are used in the world’s largest single-site renewable energy project, in Dubai, and the world’s largest solar power plant, located in Morocco. Our steel products support the hydroelectric industry too, with special grades used in the turbines, water gates and penstocks that carry water to turbines.

Oil, gas and nuclear energy

Although the renewable energy revolution is underway, the world will still rely on traditional fossil fuels such as oil and gas during a transitional phase. We supply the steels for onshore and offshore platforms, liquified natural gas (LNG) ships, pipelines, refineries, and fuel storage. Steel plates are also a core component for pressure vessels and many other major structural applications in power generation and petrochemical processing.

Our wholly owned subsidiary Industeel, with steel mills in Belgium and France, is a global leader in all energy markets, with particular expertise in the high-purity steel grades needed for nuclear reactors, nuclear waste transport and storage casks.