Nippon Steel to Supply Material for Vestas Wind Towers

Nippon Steel signed a cooperation memorandum with Denmark's wind turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems on Wednesday to supply steel for Vestas' wind towers for European, Asian and Japanese markets, Japan's industry ministry said.

The agreement was part of a broader push by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to strengthen the supply chain for wind generation in the country where renewables are key to reducing import costs and dependency on fossil fuels.

Offshore wind is a pillar of Japan's renewable energy strategy, but the country remains heavily reliant on imported wind turbines and components.

Vestas has a number of contracts in Japan, including for a 375-megawatt offshore wind farm off the coast of Happo-Noshiro in Akita prefecture in northern Japan to be built by Eneos Corp, Iberdrola and Tohoku Electric Power.

In June, METI announced a cooperation framework with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy for the offshore wind sector. Siemens Gamesa, the wind turbine division of Siemens Energy, agreed a deal with Japanese electronic parts maker TDK for magnets to supply the wind turbines.

METI launched a similar framework with GE Vernova, a major U.S. energy equipment company, to promote public-private cooperation in wind power, hydrogen and ammonia among other areas.

Japan aims to achieve 45 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040 to reduce its reliance on imported coal and gas for power generation. But, its plans have stalled despite three major rounds of auctions, due to soaring costs and delays.

(Reuters)