South Korea: Major pipe makers scale up production to meet growing demand from offshore wind market

Major South Korean steel pipe producers are planning to increase their production to meet growing demand from the offshore wind power generation sector.

The largest Korean steel pipe manufacturer, SeAH Steel, plans to establish a new production facility to increase output of its pin piles for jackets used in the substructure of offshore wind turbines, in the first half of CY'22. The company's Suncheon factory, which has an annual production capacity of 72,000 tonnes (t), has been supplying pin piles jackets. However, as orders for offshore wind power projects have increased, the company is planning set up new a production line.

The company has purchased buildings and a site in Gwangyang from the SeenTec Corporation, a Korean assembler of steel structures related to environmental plant and industrial boilers, for KRW 12.5 billion ($10.5 million), which it (SeAH Steel) will use for establishing the pin pile production line. This new site would create operational and logistical synergies due to its proximity to both Suncheon and the port.

Also, the leading steel maker, Hyundai Steel plans to enter the offshore wind power generation market by supplying structural and pin pile steel pipes, taking the opportunity to participate in the offshore wind power project to be built off the coast of Jeju.

The company plans to establish a system to supply 12,000 t of multi-variety/super-diameter steel pipes. In addition, a new, specialised organisation is established to handle quality and delivery of the same.

In order to realise carbon neutrality, the company plans to actively invest in new facilities to develop materials and build a mass supply system based on cooperation with offshore wind power companies and local governments.

The offshore wind power substructure market depends entirely on Taiwan for overseas projects and it is expected that the opportunities for steel pipes industry will continue to increase in the future.

Note: This insight has been published in accordance with an article exchange agreement between SteelMint and SteelDaily.