Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH, a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG, and wind turbine producer Siemens Gamesa have signed a contract for 25kt of heavy plates, to be used to build 36 wind towers.
These wind towers are referred to as ‘Siemens Gamesa GreenerTowers’.
The special feature of this tower is its CO2eq emissions of less than 700 kg per tonne of steel, says Salzgitter. The first use of the Siemens Gamesa GreenerTower will now be the offshore wind farm ‘Thor’ in the Danish North Sea on the west coast of Jutland, which is aimed for completion by the end of 2027 and has a planned capacity of more than 1,000 MW. This will make ‘Thor’ Denmark's largest offshore wind farm to date with a total of 72 wind towers, which will supply more than one million Danish households.
The heavy plate for the 36 ‘GreenerTowers’ will be supplied by Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH (ILG) and Mannesmann Grobblech GmbH (MGB).
‘‘We are delighted that ILG and MGB are the first certified suppliers to make a significant contribution to reducing the global CO2eq footprint by supplying low-emission heavy plate.''
Oliver Laubner, sales manager, Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH
‘‘We are delighted that ILG and MGB are the first certified suppliers to make a significant contribution to reducing the global CO2eq footprint by supplying low-emission heavy plate. To this end, we have invested in new equipment to be able to supply such wind projects with 18-24-metre-long plates. This includes, for example, the investment in the transport line for finishing with an overhead crane and a mobile roller table extension,’' said Oliver Laubner, sales manager at Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH.
''If all towers installed by the company in one year were replaced with GreenerTowers, it would be equivalent to removing over 466,000 cars from European roads for a year.''
Maximilian Schnippering, head of sustainability, Siemens Gamesa.
‘‘It is a pleasure to see the first GreenerTowers taking physical shape in the real world – not only as drawings. The energy transition demands end-to-end value chains working together to eliminate CO2eq emissions. GreenerTowers exemplifies this collaboration. If all towers installed by the company in one year were replaced with GreenerTowers, it would be equivalent to removing over 466,000 cars from European roads for a year. Innovations like this are crucial to achieving our sustainability goals’', stated Maximilian Schnippering, head of sustainability at Siemens Gamesa.
Around 30kt of primary material are required to produce the heavy plates. Some of these slabs will be produced by Peiner Träger GmbH (PTG) using scrap-based electrical steel and renewable energies. The remaining slabs are to be supplied by international trading company Salzgitter Mannesmann International from European sources.
The heavy plates for the wind towers are to be delivered to the wind tower manufacturers Windar in Spain and Welcon in Denmark between March to October 2025.