First Turbine with Low‑Emission Steel Tower Installed at Thor Offshore Wind Farm
29.04.2026 | Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH
- First wind turbine with CO₂‑reduced tower plates installed at the Thor offshore wind farm
- Ilsenburger Grobblech and Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech supplied 25,000 metric tons of heavy plate for 36 of the 72 wind turbine towers
At Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm, Thor, RWE has installed the first wind turbine equipped with a tower made from CO₂‑reduced steel that we produced for our customer Siemens Gamesa. This major project involved close collaboration with our sister company Salzgitter Mannesmann Grobblech, supplying approximately 25,000 metric tons of low‑emission heavy plate for 36 GreenerTower structures out of a total of 72 wind turbines.
Once completed, the offshore wind farm will be capable of supplying electricity generated from wind power to more than one million Danish households. Thor is a joint project between RWE (51%) and Norges Bank Investment Management (49%), with RWE responsible for construction and operation. A total of 72 wind turbines are currently being installed around 22 kilometers off the coast of Thorsminde on Denmark’s west coast of Jutland. The first turbine has recently delivered electricity to the Danish grid for the first time.
Thor is setting new standards as the world’s first offshore project to use steel towers manufactured with a reduced CO₂ footprint. For this purpose, 36 of the 72 wind turbines are being produced using CO₂‑reduced heavy plate from Ilsenburg and Mülheim. Since tower production alone accounts for more than one third of total CO₂e emissions from wind turbines, this represents a crucial lever for making the energy transition even greener.
As the first certified supplier of low‑emission heavy plate, we were able to make a significant contribution to the successful implementation of this ambitious project. By using input material produced via the electric arc furnace route—sourced from our sister company Peiner Träger and through our trading company Salzgitter Mannesmann International—we are able to reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 77% compared to the traditional blast furnace route.
All turbines at the Thor offshore wind farm are scheduled to be operational by 2027. Seeing this wind farm take shape is a powerful demonstration of what can be achieved through strong, cross‑industry partnerships.