NLMK Group’s Danish plant supplies heavy plate for wind power project in France

Russian steelmaker NLMK Group said May 18 that its NLMK DanSteel plant in Denmark has supplied heavy plate for the manufacture of components for wind turbine towers in the first major offshore wind farm in France’s Brittany.

The wind farm is located in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc, covering an area of 75 square km. It will consist of 62 wind turbines and its launch is scheduled for 2023.

With the wind farm’s capacity close to 500 MW, there will be enough energy generated to supply electricity to more than 800,000 people, a quarter of Brittany’s population, according to the company statement.

NLMK declined to give any further details on how much steel it will supply when contacted by S&P Global Platts.

The plate market is currently enjoying a recovery in demand, with prices at historical highs, as is also the case with other steel products.

Since the end of 2021, EU benchmark plate prices have risen by Eur330/mt to Eur935/mt CIF Antwerp, according to Platts data.

NLMK DanSteel produces hot-rolled structural steel plates for construction, bridge building, the wind industry, offshore oil and gas, shipbuilding, boiler and pressure vessels, and transport. The mill has a production capacity of 550,000 mt/year of plates.

NLMK DanSteel plans to actively expand its product offering for the wind power sector, with 1.8 million mt/year of steel capacity based in Lipetsk (western Russia) that will send slab to Dansteel to produce plate to make wind turbine parts, marine vessels, oil drilling rings and large diameter pipes.

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia.

The group’s steel products are used in various industries, from construction and machine building to the manufacturing of power-generation equipment and offshore wind turbines. NLMK operates production facilities in Russia, Europe and the US. The company’s overall steel production capacity exceeds 17 million mt/year.

— Annalisa Villa