Japan-based electric services company Sumitomo Corporation has announced that it will buy a stake in Germany-based EEW Offshore Wind EU Holding (EEW), which specializes in monopiles or large diameter steel pipes used in the foundation of bottom-fixed offshore wind power plants, for an undisclosed amount in order to strengthen its presence in the European offshore wind power market.
Accordingly, the transaction is expected to be completed by year-end. As a result, Sumitomo will contribute to the green transformation by ensuring a stable supply of monopiles to solve the bottleneck in the European offshore wind power industry.
According to the estimations, Europe’s offshore wind power generation is expected to rise to 164 GW by 2030 and to 549 GW by 2050, with its demand for monopiles forecast to be over 1 million mt per year in 2026, compared to 650,000 mt per year in 2023.