Tokyo-based Sumitomo has acquired an equity stake in monopile manufacturer EEW Offshore Wind.
This stake in EEW Offshore Wind Holding brings together Sumitomo’s expertise in the international steel market with EEW’s focus on offshore wind energy infrastructure. EEW’s strength, according to Sumitomo, is its mass production system for monopiles featuring sophisticated technology to bend extra-thick steel plates over 100 mm thick and high-quality welding technology.
Europe’s offshore wind power development target is expected to rise to 164 GW by 2030 and 549 GW by 2050. The demand for monopiles is forecast to increase from 650,000 tonnes per year in 2023 to 1 million tons in 2026.
According to Sumitomo, expanding its monopile manufacturing capacity with this deal will help address potential bottlenecks in the European market. Sumitomo has worked with EEW since the 2000s and completion of this deal is scheduled for the end of December 2024, subject to various legal and regulatory requirements.
Christoph Schorge, managing partner of the EEW Group, said of the deal: “In order to continue to secure our position as global market leader, to continue to enable healthy growth and to be able to draw on sufficient resources to successfully handle large-scale projects, we, the owner families of Schorge and Dietze, have decided to bring a trusted strategic partner on board for this division. The majority shares remain with us as the owner families.”
