1 April 2024
JFE Engineering Corporation
JFE Engineering Corporation (President and CEO: Kazuyoshi Fukuda; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) has completed the Kasaoka Monopile Factory (located in Kasaoka City, Okayama Prefecture, hereinafter referred to as "the factory")*1 as a production base for offshore wind turbine fixed-bottom foundations (monopile type) and commenced operation on April 1, 2024. Prior to this, a completion ceremony was held on March 19, attended by approximately 200 participants, including local authorities, relevant government agencies, JFE Group representatives, those involved in the construction, and others, to celebrate the grand opening of the new factory.
Monopiles are massive structures that support wind turbines and towers*2 underwater. The factory is capable of manufacturing monopiles with a maximum diameter of 12m, plate thickness of 130mm, length of approximately 100m, and weight of around 2,500 tons per foundation, fulfilling the expectations for domestically produced monopiles from power generation companies and other stakeholders. In addition to the significant economic ripple effects from the annual production of approximately 100,000 tons of monopiles, it is expected that approximately 400 new jobs will be created when the plant reaches full operation in the fiscal year 2025.
The factory represents the first new facility in approximately 50 years since the establishment of our main steel structure manufacturing factory, Tsu Works. Over the years, we have developed processing and welding techniques in large steel structure manufacturing. Building upon this foundation, we are incorporating cutting-edge equipment with a proven track record of monopile manufacturing in Europe, utilizing large single and heavy plates supplied by JFE Steel, and integrating state of the art welding technology with high efficiency and quality jointly developed with the company to engage in manufacturing monopiles.
By stably supplying world-class monopiles manufactured in our state-of-the-art facility, we aim to make significant contributions to the rapid expansion of Japan's offshore wind power industry.
- *1 Please refer to Capital investment for the construction of the new factory for monopile foundations decided Japan's first manufacturing base for the bottom-mounted foundations of offshore wind turbines
- *2 Support pillars between the wind turbine and the foundation structure
Location Map
Overview of Kasaoka Monopile Factory
Kasaoka Monopile Factory Panorama
Demonstration of the bending machine during the completion ceremony
For inquiries regarding this press release, please contact:
- Public Relations Section, General Administration Department, JFE Engineering Corporation