Manufacturing Update

SeAH Wind Ltd, the Teesworks-based monopile manufacturer owned by South Korea's SeAH Steel Holding, announced a proposed restructuring on 30 April 2026, citing "ongoing financial pressures" with contributing factors including a "reduction in customer demand". Industry reporting confirmed that SeAH Wind and RWE have mutually agreed to adjust the manufacturing scope of SeAH's contract for the Norfolk Vanguard West offshore wind farm; SeAH continues to retain the contract for the sister Norfolk Vanguard East project. SeAH Wind's December 2023 contract with Vattenfall (transferred to RWE following RWE's March 2024 acquisition of the Norfolk portfolio) had originally placed the SeAH Teesside facility as the supplier of XXL monopile foundations for both Norfolk Vanguard West and Norfolk Vanguard East. Subsequent industry reporting indicates RWE is now in advanced discussions with European fabricators Haizea Wind Group (Bilbao, Spain) and Steelwind Nordenham (Germany) to deliver Norfolk Vanguard West monopiles on a tighter programme, supporting RWE's targeted summer-2026 final investment decision and 2029 commissioning. RWE's existing capacity reservation framework agreement with Steelwind Nordenham (signed October 2024 for up to 300 monopiles for European projects from end-2029) provides the contractual umbrella for any Norfolk Vanguard West call-off. No official RWE press release naming the replacement supplier(s) and call-off quantities has yet been issued. The scope adjustment puts up to 100 of the c.380 SeAH Teesside roles at risk according to GMB and BBC reporting.