Dillinger, a German manufacturer of high-quality heavy plate, has announced that they will invest €56.5 million to expand production of super-heavy plate at Dillinger and to manufacture offshore foundations at Steelwind Nordenham.
The decision on the investment plans was made by Dillinger’s supervisory board. The aim of the German tycoon is to develop on the RES market and strengthen its position there. The investments will benefit in particular the development of the monopile segment.
Plans for offshore wind development open up big opportunities for wind turbines component manufacturers like Dillinger. The European Union’s goal in its offshore energy strategy includes 300 GW of offshore wind energy in 2050. Germany alone plans on investing towards the aim of 40 GW by 2040, including in the area of the Baltic Sea. In addition, markets are also opening up abroad, where up to around 160 GW of offshore wind will be built by 2030.
Steelwind Nordenham, a subsidiary of the Dillinger Group, is an established manufacturer of high quality monopile foundations in the offshore segment. In Europe, around 80 wind farms have already been built on Dillinger steel foundations. The offshore wind market continues to grow. The growing demand for wind energy is reflected in the demand for larger and heavier offshore foundations with diameters of more than 10 meters and weighing more than 2,400 tons. These dimensions require the use of particularly heavy plates with a unit weight of over 35 tonnes. They make it possible to produce monopiles with fewer welds and thus increase production efficiency.
Currently one of the furnaces (No. 2) in the Dillinger mill is being upgraded and strengthened to bring the 600 mm plates to the temperature required for plate rolling. The investment will increase production capacity in the production of thick sheets.
Steelwind Nordenham is preparing for the increasing demand for larger and heavier XXL monopiles and the increased logistical requirements of customers. The company has been producing monopiles and transition pieces in Nordenham since 2014. Now they also produce “one-piece” monopile foundations with unit weights up to 2,400 tonnes. The one-piece monopile foundation replaces the previous design with a separate monopile and transitional element by integrating some parts of the transitional elements into the monopile. The length of the monopile can then be up to 120 metres. Steelwind currently employs 275 people.
