Steel from end-of-life ships is to be processed into construction products in Norway without being remelted. Nordic Circles and Alsaker Stål are to receive the equivalent of around €23 million from the funding organisation Enova for this project.
The Norwegian companies Nordic Circles and Alsaker Stål aim to establish an industrial processing chain for the direct reuse of ship steel. Rather than melting down the material after scrapping, the plan is to separate out suitable steel plates, process them and turn them into products for the construction industry. The state funding organisation Enova is now providing 244 million Norwegian kroner (equivalent to around 23 million euros) in funding for the project. It is said to be the largest circular economy project funded by Enova to date.
On Askøy, near Bergen, steel plates from end-of-life ships are already being cut to size and processed. According to the company itself, the Bergen-based technology start-up Nordic Circles has been working on the process for five years. The aim of the company, founded by John Jacobsen, is to dismantle ships in Norway into larger sections and then process the resulting material for industrial use, for example in the construction industry. The intention is not to carry out traditional recycling, but rather upcycling.
AI identifies usable steel plates
The digital mapping of the ships plays a central role. According to the project partners, artificial intelligence enables them to convert even old, hand-drawn ship plans into 3D models. These are intended to provide information on individual steel plates and enable an assessment of which quantities are suitable for reuse.
This speeds up the selection of suitable ships: whilst assessing reuse potential used to take up to a year, the new system allows this to be carried out within two days.
Alsaker Stål also sees this as an advantage for raw material procurement. The company can identify much more quickly which types of ships provide the most suitable source material. Previously, this required extensive manual analysis.
Climate benefits from eliminating the need for remelting
The expected reductions in emissions are due in particular to the fact that the material does not need to be remelted. Furthermore, reuse is expected to reduce the demand for newly produced steel and for long-distance transport.
According to Nordic Circles, the use of reused ship steel plates could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from construction projects by up to 25 per cent. This figure therefore represents a potential saving in the construction sector, not a proven reduction in emissions for the entire project.
Enova estimates the theoretical potential of Europe-wide application at around 17 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. In addition to climate protection, the funding organisation sees the project as offering the prospect of new jobs and a local supply of steel for European industry.
Economic viability still to be established
The funding is intended to enable the partners to further develop their methods and optimise their processes. According to those involved, it remains to be seen whether this will result in a profitable business model in the long term.
Solhaug, Managing Director of Alsaker-Stål, described the support as a crucial prerequisite for the project. The aim, he said, is to establish a new industry on Norway’s west coast that is both economically viable and sustainable.
The concept thus opens up a new avenue for ship recycling: suitable steel plates could in future be used as raw material for new products, rather than undergoing the energy-intensive process of being remelted.
