North American steelmaker Nucor has launched a sustainable heavy gauge steel plate specifically for the US offshore wind industry.
The product, Elcyon, will be made at the company’s new $1.7bn (€1.5bn) Nucor Brandenburg steel mill in Kentucky, which produced its first steel plate at the end of December 2022.
“By launching Elcyon at Brandenburg we have effectively created the first domestic supply chain of sustainable steel for our offshore wind energy industry,” said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation.
He added: “As demand for alternative energy sources like offshore wind continues to grow and manufacturers push for bigger turbines, Elcyon’s larger and thicker plate sizes will help the United States become a leader in offshore wind production.”
Elcyon is a clean, advanced steel product made using Nucor’s recycled scrap-based electric arc furnace manufacturing process.
This circular production process has a greenhouse gas emissions intensity that is one fifth the global blast furnace extractive steelmaking average, based on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, stated Nucor.
Elcyon is made using thermo-mechanical controlled processing (TMCP) at the new mill.
Along with meeting Euronorm specs, Elcyon is characterised by “larger plate dimensions, improved weldability and excellent fracture toughness”, as compared to competing products.
Elcyon will be an essential component of the supply chain to continue developing our nation’s offshore wind power infrastructure, stated Nucor.
The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act supports the Biden Administration’s goal to build 30GW of offshore wind power by 2030.
Nucor Steel Brandenburg is located in the middle of the largest steel plate-consuming region in the country and will be able to produce 97% of plate products consumed domestically.
Nucor expects to offer Elcyon in a wide range of plate grades and sizes, working closely with end users to meet unique needs and specifications of offshore wind projects.