SeAH Steel Holdings will join hands with the British government to participate in the U.K.'s state-run offshore wind power project.
SeAH Steel Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the British government to build a monopile production facility at the British Embassy in central Seoul on Aug. 19.
SeAH Steel Holdings will participate as a manufacturer of 'monopile', a basic structure of offshore wind power. SeAH Steel has decided to set up a plant in the UK that can produce monopiles in very large sizes.
SeAH Steel has set a goal of starting commercial production in the first quarter of 2023 and selling more than 100 (160,000 tons) monopiles a year. This is half the annual demand for monopiles in the UK.
Britain will be able to procure monopiles from within the country with the establishment of a monopile plant by SeAH Steel Holdings. Britain, as a strong offshore wind power, accounted for 45 percent of Europe's monopiles demand, but has imported the whole due to the absence of production facilities in the country.
The British government plans to actively support the early arrangement of contracts with offshore wind power operators, the selection of optimal locations, and the provision of research and development projects for SeAH Steel Holdings.
Recently, it advocated "economic revival through the Green Industrial Revolution" and designated offshore wind power as a major nurturing industry.
The British government is known to have joined hands with SeAH Steel Holdings, which has a long history of welding steel pipes, to develop the offshore wind power industry. The company explained that its experience of delivering jacket-type offshore wind power basic structures for major global offshore wind power projects was also highly praised.
Lee Ju-sung, vice president of management at SeAH Steel Holdings, said, "We will further diversify and specialize in offshore wind power business by entering the UK market and leap forward as a top player in the global offshore wind structure market."
