General – Innovations
Steel giant Tata Steel of IJmuiden, the Netherlands, recently announced it is developing cheaper wind turbines.
In a recent interview in the local daily Kennemer Dagblad Tata Steel announced that the new wind turbines can be built much more cheaply by using smarter steel structures. Structures that are lighter but at least as strong as the current ones.
Tata is now working together in a consortium led by TU Delft and Tata Steel Netherlands. Several parties from the wind turbine market are also involved in the research.
Wind turbines are currently made of very thick steel plates (7 -10 centimetres). In IJmuiden, only thin steel is produced. Tata Steel and TU Delft are now researching a new basic structure of two thin tubes with padding that is as strong as the solid tube of current wind turbines.
The new generation of wind turbines will be cheaper and more sustainable, say Tata Steel and TU Delft. Steel savings of at least 40% are expected.
