SeAH Steel to supply 1,750 tons of steel pipes for UK CCUS project, eyes energy transition market

SeAH Steel announced Thursday it will supply high-value steel pipes for a carbon capture, utilization and storage project led by the British government.

The company signed a contract to deliver approximately 1,750 tons of stainless steel pipes for the Teesside CCUS project, a flagship decarbonization infrastructure initiative in which the British government captures carbon dioxide emitted from a gas-fired combined-cycle power plant and permanently stores it in deep-sea formations.

The pipes will be used in core processes that refine captured carbon dioxide from the power plant and deep-sea storage facilities and transport it in gaseous and liquid states.

The pipes are engineered to withstand cryogenic temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees Celsius without fracturing and to resist corrosion under the high-pressure conditions of deep-sea environments. SeAH Steel said it produced the large-diameter pipes — ranging from 50 to 66 inches — in 12-meter lengths, twice the length of standard products, minimizing the number of weld joints and improving process stability and overall quality.

The British government is investing roughly 31 trillion won (approximately $20.4 billion) to build large-scale carbon capture clusters as part of its push for carbon neutrality. The global carbon capture and storage market is projected to reach about 73 trillion won by 2030, according to market research firm MMR.

SeAH Steel said it plans to use this project as a springboard to expand its presence in global CCUS projects and secure long-term supply contracts in the energy transition market.

"Having SeAH Steel's CCUS pipes selected in the United Kingdom — a global leader in decarbonization — is a meaningful achievement," a company official said. "We will continue to pursue sustainable growth in the energy transition infrastructure market, drawing on the quality competitiveness of our eco-friendly energy pipes and the synergies with our global subsidiaries."

SeAH Steel, the founding company of SeAH Group, is a steel pipe specialist that has built a global supply chain anchored by domestic factories in Pohang, Suncheon, Changwon and Gunsan.