SeAH Steel Holdings' British offshore wind structure subsidiary SeAH Wind's local factory will begin commercial operation next month and is expected to contribute to annual sales growth of several billion won. The construction of the SeAH Wind factory has thus far invested $1.2 billion (approximately 1.6 trillion won), and evaluations indicate that it proactively secured work amounting to more than the factory's investment cost, establishing a stable operational foundation.
According to the industry on the 28th, the SeAH Wind factory located in the Teesside region of northeastern England is conducting final equipment installation and test production ahead of its commercial production start next month. It is set to produce up to 400,000 tons of monopiles annually. Monopiles are cylindrical structures made by welding large thick steel plates, serving to anchor offshore wind turbines to the seabed below the water's surface.
The SeAH Wind factory, which has attracted an investment of 1.6 trillion won, was created with support from various affiliates within the group. SeAH Steel Holdings established SeAH Wind in the UK in 2021 and initiated a local factory investment of 400 billion won. Subsequently, SeAH Steel Holdings, along with the group's steelpipe subsidiary SeAH Steel, the U.S. subsidiary SeAH Steel America, and the domestic investment corporation SeAH Steel International, provided funds by participating in SeAH Wind's paid-in capital increase.
SeAH Wind is the only supplier of offshore wind monopiles in the UK and is receiving significant attention locally. On the 13th of last month (local time), King Charles III visited SeAH Wind to inspect the factory's production facilities.
SeAH Wind has already secured work exceeding its investment expenses. During its early establishment in 2021, the company signed a contract to supply monopiles worth £364 million (approximately 660 billion won) for the Hornsea Project Zone 3, a large offshore wind power project promoted by Danish state-owned energy company Ørsted in the UK.
At the end of 2023, while construction was underway, the company secured a contract to supply monopiles worth £900 million (approximately 1.6 trillion won) for the world's largest offshore wind power project, 'Norfolk Vanguard.' The combined amount of these two projects exceeds 2 trillion won.
SeAH Wind is actively conducting joint marketing through continuous information exchange with SeAH Steel, which produces steel structures for offshore wind foundations such as jackets and pinpiles in Korea. The company plans to secure proactive production volumes through additional orders by 2030.
A SeAH Group official said, 'SeAH Wind already has a backlog of work for three years and is expected to record stable annual sales of several billion won. To enhance synergy with SeAH Steel, we will strengthen our research and development capabilities and manufacturing capacity while accelerating our global strategy, focusing on expanding into Asia and North America, centered around Europe.'