Wind Energy – Steel
Nucor today introduced Elcyon™, the company’s new sustainable heavy gauge steel plate product made specifically to meet the growing demands of America’s offshore wind energy producers.
Nucor will manufacture Elcyon at the company’s new, $1.7 billion state-of-the-art 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 nation’s offshore wind energy industry,” said Leon Topalian, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. “As demand for alternative energy sources like offshore wind continues to grow and manufacturers push for larger 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. Nucor’s circular steelmaking route has a greenhouse gas emissions intensity that is one fifth the global blast furnace extractive steelmaking average, based on Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Utilizing Thermo-Mechanical Controlled Processing (TMCP) at the new mill, Elcyon, the only steel of its kind in the United States was created specifically to meet the rigorous quality standards of offshore wind energy designers, manufacturers and fabricators.
Along with meeting Euronorm specs, Elcyon is characterized by larger plate dimensions, improved weldability and excellent fracture toughness, as compared to competing products.
Nucor expects to offer Elcyon in a wide range of plate grades and sizes, working closely with end users to meet their unique needs and specifications.
