Sumitomo Metals to Appeal Stainless Tube to Renewable Energy Systems

Sumitomo Metal industries’ steel tube department plans to expand steel tube supply to renewable power plants such as solar power and biomass systems. The demand is expected to increase when safety of atomic power plants or shortage of energy resources are concerned. Sumitomo Metals appeals high grade stainless steel tube adoptable to various applications and users’ custom offers.

In Europe and the U.S.A., research and development are actively carried out to raise steam temperature in solar power generation systems. Sumitomo Metals exported 9% chrome series stainless tube for high temperature electric power plants in UAE, the U.S.A. and Spain driven with steam temperature at 550 Celsius degrees at total 300 tonnes in May 2011. Steam temperature is forecasted to reach 600 Celsius degrees in future. Sumitomo Metals expects for high grade stainless tube adoption to supercritical pressure power plants.

For biomass systems, demand is gradually increasing for steel tubes with high strength and high anti-oxidation properties when scale of biomass electric power generation systems recently tend to enlarge and steam temperature to rise. Sumitomo Metals’ stainless boiler tube has currently been adopted to biomass electric power generation systems.