Challenges as wind turbine producers aim to meet demand for more powerful generators

In late 2019, the European Union unveiled its ‘Green Deal’ – a roadmap of actions which will help the bloc to boost the efficient use of resources by moving to a clean and circular economy. Increasing the availability of renewable energy – and wind in particular – is a cornerstone of the Green Deal and will see wind energy account for at least half of Europe’s electricity needs by 2050. Meeting this demand will require Europe to install over twice as much new wind energy each year as it managed in 2019. Achieving that target will require significant efforts from electrical steel producers and manufacturers of wind power generators such as ArcelorMittal customer, Indar Wind Energy.

Growth from onshore and offshore installations

According to WindEurope, an association which represents companies active in the European wind energy sector: “Climate neutrality and the Green Deal [will] require Europe to install over twice as much new wind energy each year as it managed in 2019. And the growth needs to come from both offshore and onshore wind.”

Electrical steels are the core component in wind turbine generators. “That means electrical steel manufacturers such as ArcelorMittal are subject to the same market demands in terms of growth and competition as the rest of the supply chain,” notes Xabier Irure, global commercial director for Indar. “Electrical steel suppliers need to meet these challenges if they are to help the wind energy industry to stay ahead in the game.”

NGO electrical steels

ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products has been one of the world’s leading suppliers of the non-grain oriented (NGO) electrical steels used in wind generators for decades. With the market demanding more powerful machines and higher efficiency to respond to industry pressure and initiatives such as the Green Deal, the development of new electrical steels and improvements to existing grades are more critical than ever.

“Development of the electrical steels we need requires an R&D team with a high level of technical skill and an organisation which can produce them,” notes Xabier Irure. “These are some of ArcelorMittal’s main strengths. That’s why ArcelorMittal has been on Indar’s supplier panel for many years as one of our main sources of NGO steels.”

High-tech steels required to meet the challenge

ArcelorMittal is also able to supply the heavy plate which is required to meet market demand for taller and more powerful windmills (turbines). “Onshore turbines are typically between 70 and 160 metres and generate from 2 to more than 6 megawatts (MW) of energy,” explains Xabier Irure. “When it comes to offshore, bigger is better. OEMs are already working on projects which can generate more than 12 MW of energy. These towers will be up to 240 metres in height.”

Organisations such as the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) are forecasting growth in new installations over the next four years. For example, GWEC foresee an average growth rate of 2.7 percent annually. “The need for clean energy is set to increase rapidly in the next few years due to the roll-out of electrical vehicles, and the focus on renewable energy, particularly in Europe,” says Xabier Irure. “Wind power stakeholders, such as Indar Wind Energy, expect our need for electrical steels to boom as a result in the medium term. One of our concerns is the lack of local capacity to meet our needs for NGO electrical steels needs in the EU. Fortunately, we know ArcelorMittal is anticipating this issue and is well prepared to extend its own production capacities.”

Rapid development of new technologies needed

One of the key challenges for Indar is the rapid development of new technologies and specifications for wind turbines. “Just five years ago, the design for a wind energy generator would have been used for 8 to 10 years,” explains Xabier Irure. “Today, three to five years is the life expectancy of a design. Within that time, an improved design will be launched. That implies more product validations, shorter time-to-market, and more complexity.”

About Indar Wind Energy

Indar Wind Energy is a business unit of the Indar Group, a company founded in 1940. Indar Wind Energy designs, manufactures, and delivers wind power generators and provides after-sales service. The company is headquartered in Beasain (Spain) and manufactures generators in Beasain, Segorbe (Spain), and Milwaukee (USA). Since 1998, Indar Wind Energy has delivered over 21,000 generators which can generate more than 30 gigawatts (GW) of energy.

More info: www.ingeteam.com/indar

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications
Images: Indar, Shutterstock - Gunnar Pippel, Voyagerix, Rudmer Zwerver

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Xabier Irure, global commercial director for Indar

Indar wind energy generator

Wind turbine blades

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We value our partners. We are proud to cooperate with the companies and institutions that count on ArcelorMittal's technical know-how and expertise in their mission to create innovative, sustainable, and value-added solutions for their key markets. As our partnerships continue to grow, so has our newest Constructalia section – Partners.

Steel for construction

Our high quality steels are the perfect base for the creation of elements or finished products for use in a wide scope of the construction market. From heavy plates to organic or metallic coated coils, our production portfolio meets the highest demands in terms of resistance, corrosion protection, and aesthetics.

Meet our partners utilising our extensive Granite® range or corrosion resistant Magnelis®: Blachdom Plus, Budmat, and Regamet in their roofing solutions; BUCON for their steel tanks; Metpol with their plasterboard solutions; Meteor Systems and Zimmermann in their horticultural and agricultural systems; and InQuik for their innovative bridges.

Discover: Metal Union’s application of our metallic coated steels in their profiles, Gagnepark’s usage of sections and Cofraplus® for their multi-storey car parks, and Matière’s patented bridges with our heavy plates.

Steel promotion

From partnerships with associations promoting steel as a building material to new technologies and construction solutions with steel – and everything in between – we work closely with our partners to disseminate knowledge about steel in construction.

A new addition to our Partners section is ConstruirAcier, who inform and advise architects, engineering offices, and investors on the economic and environmental challenges faced by steel in architecture.

Text: Constructalia
Images: Blachdom Plus, BUCON, ConstuirAcier, Gagnepark, Matière, Meteor Systems, Metpol

The French company Matière first introduced its Unibridge® concept in 2004. Today these patented structures are shipped around the world where they are used as permanent or temporary crossings for vehicles and pedestrians. Thanks to their modular nature and ease of construction, the Unibridge® is particularly popular in remote regions where materials and skilled workers are hard to find. The solution uses ArcelorMittal’s S355K2+N and S460M high strength steel plates which are known for their durability, giving the Unibridge® a 100-year design life.

Close cooperation with ArcelorMittal

“The close cooperation between ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products and ArcelorMittal Projects, together with the quality of the plates produced in ArcelorMittal’s mill in Gijón, Spain guarantees the best level of service for Matière,” says Michaël Regal, Account Manager for Matière at ArcelorMittal Projects.

Since 2018, heavy plates from our Gijón mill have been successfully delivered to Matière and its subcontractors in France, Belgium, and Portugal. “When a very short lead time is required, we are in the position to offer a delivery in less than a week at any Matière yard thanks to our own stock of plates, beams, and tubes,” says Michaël Regal.

Designed for remote and developing regions

The Unibridge® was initially developed as a solution for the military but was never adopted. Matière immediately saw the potential of the solution in developing countries and remote locations as Hervé Blanc, Deputy General Manager of Matière, explains: “These areas typically require many bridges, but there is a lack of resources and skills to produce them.”

Ease of transport and construction in remote areas was a key consideration in the early design phase notes Hervé Blanc: “We developed a structure that does not require welding on site, and which can be assembled without heavy lifting devices. In some cases, the girders can be offloaded and pushed into place with an excavator, or sometimes by the truck that delivered them. It takes around five days to install a typical two-lane (nine-metre wide) bridge that is 40 metres in length.”

The only preparatory work that needs to be done is preparing the bridge’s abutments. That can be done by an onsite partner who can complete the work while the bridge is being manufactured and shipped.

Simple design makes transport simple and efficient

Matière adapted the design to ensure two of the box girders which form the basis of the Unibridge® could fit into a standard shipping container. “Our box girders are 11.4 metres in length, ensuring two can fit into each container,” says Hervé Blanc. “The girders can be pinned on site to create a maximum length of 60 metres. But if you include piles, you can extend the length of the bridge significantly. We’re currently constructing a Unibridge® in the Philippines which will be four kilometres long. There is no limit on the width of the Unibridge® as the box girders can be simply linked with spacers.”

Weight saving with S460M

Another consideration was keeping the weight of the container below 25 tonnes. “Thanks to the use of ArcelorMittal grades such as S460M, weight is not an issue,” says Hervé Blanc. “In the beginning we constructed the entire bridge from S355, and a typical box girder weighed 12 tonnes. Today we are using more S460M, and the average weight is 10 tonnes, a saving of almost 20 percent. Now we are looking at replacing the S355 with S460M from ArcelorMittal to achieve even greater weight savings. That will reduce the cost of transporting and installing the bridges.”

Low maintenance steels extend bridge life

One of the key advantages of ArcelorMittal’s steels is that they don’t need a lot of maintenance as Hervé Blanc explains: “ArcelorMittal’s steels are very tough! The bridge simply needs a fresh coat of paint every 15 to 20 years to protect it. In some areas we recommend a C5 paint system due to the marine environment.”

A sustainable solution thanks to steel

As the Unibridge® is prefabricated, there is no waste produced on site. All scrap steel produced in Matière’s factories is recycled or reused. The sustainability of the solution is further enhanced as it can be transported by ship from Matière’s plants in Europe.

The bridges themselves can be fully recycled at the end of their life or disassembled and reconstructed in another location. “The company which is building a traffic deviation around Strasbourg, France is renting two of our Unibridge® solutions to divert traffic around the roadworks,” says Hervé Blanc. “They will be in place for two years before they are dismantled and reassembled in another location.”

To date, Matière has installed over a thousand Unibridge® solutions in more than 35 countries around the world. “The introduction of the Unibridge® in 2004 was the beginning of Matière’s success story,” says Hervé Blanc. “But every Unibridge® is also a human success story. They can cut a journey that normally takes a day, to just an hour. This dramatically changes the way people in remote areas live and interact.”

About Matière

Matière was founded in 1932 and is still a family-run company. The business operates three plants in France and one in Belgium. All the plants produce components for Matière’s bridge business. In addition to the Unibridge®, Matière produce reinforced and prestressed concrete bridges, metal bridges, and composite structures which use both metal and concrete. The company is also involved in the repair of concrete and metallic bridges. Around 65 percent of its bridges are exported outside Europe.

For more information, visit: www.matiere-tp.com

About ArcelorMittal Projects

ArcelorMittal Projects has a global network of offices to support customers wherever their projects are located. We can leverage all parts of the ArcelorMittal group and source steel products from different segments.

We have specialty stocks of steel strategically located around the globe. That enables us to provide a complete and customised range of steel solutions and services, which include dedicated project management and prefabrication.

For more information, visit: https://projects.arcelormittal.com

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe Communications, Constructalia
Images: Matière

Related link(s)

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A Matière locomotive Unibridge®

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Matière Unibridge® with piles

Matière Unibridge®

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Matière