Newsroom Tata Steel Nederland

Scientific Research for Even Greener Wind Parks

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 07:50:20 +0100

Can wind parks be even more sustainable than they already are? The simple answer is 'yes'. Together with research institutions and other partners, Tata Steel Nederland investigates how the new generation of supporting structures for wind turbines can be built to be just as robust, with less steel, but strong and competitive. The research involves intensive collaboration with stakeholders in the wind turbine market. The goal is to commence a pilot tubular tower for a wind turbine in 2027.

Tata Steel contributes daily to the green transition that our country is currently undergoing, in multiple ways. This includes supplying steel produces with more scrap and less CO2 emissions, improving energy efficiency in all steel production processes, providing stronger steel to enhance vehicle safety and reduce fuel consumption, delivering smart steel to minimize total losses, producing tinplate to extend the shelf life of canned food and reduce food waste, supplying high-tech steel for longer-lasting and leak-resistant batteries.

Less steel, same strength, more competitive

Wind parks have not yet been mentioned in this sum-up. Why not? Because supporting structures for wind turbines are made of very thick steel plates, and machined ring flanges which are often made of more than 100 mm thick steel. Tata Steel Nederland specializes in high-quality thinner steel, in the form of coiled steel. Flat-rolled steel, which is used in our cars, washing machines, and food cans. Wind towers are made from plate thickness ranging from 40 to 100 mm, which are welded into rings, then rings welded into tower segments and then connected in-situ by ring flanges into a tower.

However, this may change soon, as a team of researchers from Tata Steel Nederland, in collaboration with, amongst others TU Delft, explores constructing wind towers with thinner steel plates that are just as strong and more competitive, representing a new advancement in wind tower construction. Hans van der Weijde, R&D Director Tata Steel: “This involves researching new and alternative forms of steel structures and connections, such as wind turbine assembly with (stiffened) panels or with spiral-like steel structures or with double-walled surfaces. Various industry stakeholders are involved in this research, as any technical innovations must also be practical and feasible.” This industrial consortium is led by Tata Steel Netherlands and TU Delft. Dr. Milan Veljkovic, Professor Steel and Composite Structures states: ”The wind turbines’ double-skin shell is a hybrid structure requiring innovation in connecting tower segments. Our main motivation is to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of such towers.”

Innovation for an extended lifespan

In addition to reducing steel usage, another focus of this research is to extend the lifespan of wind towers. This goal aligns with the redeveloping of wind turbines to last longer. Wind towers also have to meet these targets in the nearby future. The current generation of wind turbines typically has a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. With these new development goals, a lifespan of more than 30 years is being aimed for. Furthermore, this new generation of even more sustainable wind turbines should be suitable for both onshore and offshore applications. With the planned green steel investments in IJmuiden, Tata Steel aims to make a significant contribution to the production of green energy using wind turbines manufactured from green steel.

Tata Steel makes steel production more sustainable by sourcing low-CO2 zinc from Boliden

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0200

“Our agreement with Boliden reduces our indirect CO₂ emissions and marks a new step in our sustainability journey,” said Willem Vermeulen, Chief Procurement Officer of Tata Steel Nederland. “We are committed to making our steel production more sustainable and meeting the evolving needs of our customers – who are increasingly taking into account the environmental impact of the entire value chain – and society at large. With the alignment of our strategies, we will increasingly consider the environmental performance of our suppliers in our decision-making.”

“We encourage our suppliers, our customers, and our customers’ customers to take part in the industry transition and share knowledge on how we minimise emissions and carbon footprints. Our Green Transition Metals portfolio represents some of the most sustainable options on the market, and by using our Low-carbon Zinc, Tata Steel shows the importance of reducing emissions at every step of the value chain. This collaboration illustrates how choosing currently available low-carbon materials can immediately reduce carbon footprints,” said Sven Hjelmstedt, Director Sales, Boliden.

Zinc is a crucial raw material to produce galvanised steel, steel that is coated with a layer of zinc to protect it from rusting. The zinc acts as a protective barrier, making the steel more resistant to environmental conditions and extending its lifespan. Galvanised steel combines the strength and versatility of steel with the rust resistance of zinc. It is used in a wide range of industries. For example, in the manufacture of car bodies and other automotive parts, roof structures, solar panel frames and washing machines.

Tata Steel Nederland is committed to reducing its CO₂ emissions with 35-40% by 2030 and being CO₂ neutral by 2045. Meanwhile, the company is not sitting idle, aiming to reduce its annual CO₂ emissions by 500 kilotonnes – equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 25,000 Dutch households¹⁾ – before the first green steel plants come on stream, and is taking steps to further reduce the impact of its IJmuiden operations on its neighbours and environment. Apart from using virgin zinc from mines Tata Steel also uses recycled zinc in its production. Using circular zinc in combination with zinc from mines increases environmental benefits on top of the low CO₂ emission zinc acquired from Boliden.

Boliden’s Low-carbon Zinc is mined in the company’s own mines, without using fossil energy. According to Boliden, the supplied zinc accounts for an emission of less than 1 tonne of CO₂ per tonne of zinc2), compared to the industry average of 3.6 tonnes. This gives it one of the lowest CO₂ footprints of any refined zinc in the world.

¹⁾ On average, a Dutch household emits 19,000 kilos of CO₂ every year (source: Milieu Centraal).
²⁾ The emission calculations include emissions along the entire value chain up to Tata Steel according to Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle and follow the standard ISO 14064-3.

European customers of hot-dip galvanized steel to benefit from strengthened Tata Steel and Wuppermann partnership

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 13:50:00 +0200

“We are excited to take our partnership with Wuppermann to new heights,” said Tom Eussen, within Tata Steel Nederland’s Board of Management responsible for Tata Steel IJmuiden and the Downstream operations. “Over the past 20 years, Wuppermann has become a key customer and sparring partner for us. This is reflected in our efforts to develop initiatives that are valuable to both of us, such as sharing production data and piloting a scrap metal buy-back programme. These initiatives help us make our steel production process more sustainable today.”

“A strong and long-lasting partnership like the one between Tata Steel and Wuppermann is the right basis for implementing such important digitalisation and circularity projects across several stages of the value chain and to realise their full potential”, adds Karsten Pronk, managing director of Wuppermann Staal Nederland.

Tata Steel and Wuppermann recently signed a new three-year contract for the supply of hot-rolled strip steel with close thickness tolerances and high surface quality, continuing the company’s role as the steel processor’s primary supplier. Part of the supplied volume will be Zeremis^® Carbon Lite – steel with an allocated CO2 footprint reduction of up to 90%¹⁾ – as Wuppermann and its customers increasingly focus on sustainability within their supply chains. In addition, Tata Steel and Wuppermann have renewed their tolling agreement.

The companies are also deepening their collaboration through two strategic initiatives. Tata Steel will share specific production data of the supplied steel, enabling Wuppermann to further optimise steel processing efficiency and reduce lace scrap, thereby achieving cost savings and a more sustainable production process.

Furthermore, the two companies have agreed to pilot operational activities related to a scrap buyback programme, aiming to establish a closed-loop system. This aligns with Tata Steel's commitment to serve its customers ever better and its ambition to increase the use of scrap in steel production. Recycling each tonne of scrap represents a reduction of 1.6 tonnes of CO₂ compared to steel made from iron ore.

High-quality steel is crucial for multiple industries
Steel plays a vital role in a wide range of industries, including automotive and solar energy. The use of high-quality steel is important here, for processing and final finishing. Tata Steel supplies such steel to Wuppermann, which galvanises the steel. The processed steel then goes to manufacturers for final processing.

Wuppermann Group is a Germany-based steel processor that is leading in CO₂ efficient hot dip galvanizing of hot strip. Operating five production sites in the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Hungary – with Wuppermann Staal Nederland being the largest producer of galvanised strip steel within the group – Wuppermann supplies customers across Europe and the US.

¹⁾ This is the maximum reduction for the sum of scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. For the sum of scope 1 and 2 emissions, this represents a 100% reduction.