Sustainable energy solutions
There are many areas in which our steel is playing an important enabling role in adapting technologies or creating new infrastructure to meet the needs of a more sustainable energy mix.
As global energy demand continues to grow, so does the need for more efficient electrical transformers. Our electrical steels are used to generate, transmit and facilitate the use of electrical power.
Advances in steelmaking and annealing processes have improved the electrical properties of grain-oriented silicon. These types of electrical steels reduce energy losses from transformers, saving the equivalent of 4.9 tonnes of CO 2 per tonne of steel compared to 20 years ago.
Increasingly, electrical steels are being incorporated into renewable energy technologies, and we are working with our customers to develop more energy-efficient transformers and electrical steel grades for traction motors in hybrid vehicles and wave power generators.
One of our most exciting research and development (R&D) projects currently is our joint venture with the Australian company Dyesol – a world leader in dye solar cell (DSC) technology. DSC is an emerging photovoltaic technology that mimics photosynthesis in plants.
The goal of the project is to develop, manufacture and market metal roof and wall cladding products with DSC functionality integrated into the strip steel. This ambitious £11 million (US$15.73m) project is being supported by the Welsh Assembly Government in line with its objective of creating sustainable, high value-added employment in Wales, based on innovation and the renewable energy sector.
A dedicated R&D facility, including a pilot production line, has been built at our site in Shotton, Wales. Initial coating trials have proved highly promising, and during the next phase of development, due for completion in May 2010, manufactured product will be subjected to rigorous acceptance testing.
DSC-integrated steel roofing has the potential to become the first solar cell technology that is grid-competitive in the normal light levels experienced in most cities around the world, as opposed to full sun conditions needed for other solar technologies. Dye solar cells exhibit operating voltage stability across a range of weather conditions, including cloud and haze.
DSC is also less susceptible than other solar technologies to very hot weather, and it comes in a variety of natural colours that can be pigment-modified to achieve a wide range of optical effects. Combined with the low energy required for manufacture and the relatively inexpensive materials used in construction, DSC has tremendous promise as a reliable and efficient source of renewable energy wherever steel roofing is used.
Other photovoltaic applications come from Kalzip, our specialist aluminium roofing business, which has developed AluPlusSolar, an integrated roofing sheet with a flexible thin film laminate containing a highly efficient solar energy technology known as triple junction amorphous silicon photovoltaic.
On a building in London, for example, a typical 15 kWp Kalzip AluPlusSolar system would yield over 12,000 kWh of electricity per year – equivalent to an annual CO 2 saving of almost seven tonnes. AluPlusSolar technology currently contributes some 2,000 MWh to Europe’s energy needs.
Our Construction and Engineering Products business in Wales has found a niche in designing a simple Z-frame for solar panels. The frames have now been used in nine solar farm projects in Spain which together generate 13MW of electricity.
Wave power is attracting growing interest and investment as a potentially viable source of renewable energy, particularly in Europe. Our steel plate is used to fabricate the Pelamis wave energy converter, which formed the world’s first wave farm off the coast of northern Portugal. Each machine is capable of producing 750kW of power. Full commercialisation would typically produce 22.5MW, sufficient to supply electricity to 15,000 households.
We supplied steel for a prototype tidal power generator installed in the UK’s Humber estuary in 2008, which is capable of producing up to 100 kilowatts of electricity – enough to power about 70 homes. Following successful trials, a one megawatt generator is expected to be developed.
We have strong relationships with the world’s leading companies in the growing market for wind energy. Our speciality engineering steels are used to manufacture gears, bolts and bearings for wind turbines. Our electrical steels are the vital component in converting kinetic energy from the wind into electrical energy.
Our steel plate is fabricated into wind towers up to 60 metres high that must withstand demanding weather conditions both onshore and offshore. Many hundreds of these towers are now in operation in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the US. We also continue to play an active role in the development of this renewable energy technology through membership of the British Wind Energy Association.
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