Energy Market Applications and Engineering

Steel in the energy sector

Steel is an indispensable material for the generation and transmission of electricity to homes and businesses. Every power plant contains large quantities of steel, and often very specialised steels. Examples include nuclear containment vessels, the turbines in hydro-electric dams and gas-fired facilities, and the extensive structures and equipment used by wind and photovoltaic installations. And the same is true for energy transmission where steel is used in the cores of transmission cables strung across the countryside and our cities and which have to survive and operate in often extreme environments. Likewise, steel plays a vital role in energy resource transportation, from oil and gas rigs to the many thousands of kilometres of pipeline needed to transport liquids and gases, again under extreme conditions.

Further information about the work of WG energy market can be found in the ESTEP highlights of 2016.