Special Topic: Tubes and Pipes
Towards Net-Zero: The Stainless Tubes, Pipes and Fittings Sector Prepares for a Carbon-Free Future
The sector’ s strength in traditional industries such as oil and gas, coal, nuclear and petrochemicals is matched by its importance for the new-energy sector, including hydrogen, carbon storage, and renewables.
By James Chater
Introductory
The low / zero-carbon energy future affects the stainless-steel industry in numerous ways. There has been a trend towards green( decarbonized) steel production, and the recyclability of stainless steel makes it highly suitable during the energy transition. Perhaps even more importantly, stainless steel is crucial for the new-energy sectors of hydrogen, CCUS and renewables, without however relinquishing its role in the traditional industries such as gas-fired power plants, petrochemicals, or oil & gas. The tubes, pipes, and fittings( TPF) sector are especially geared towards catering for both the new and the old industries.
Outlook
Industry surveys predict a rosy future for the TPF sector: one survey predicts an expansion of 6.49 % per year between 2023 and 2030, 1 driven mainly by economic growth in China and India. In 2022 a forecast predicted that the stainless TPF market would grow by an estimated 4.53 % per year between 2023 and 2030. 2 This optimism seems to be supported by good company results. For instance, Mannesmann Stainless Tubes( MST) had“ a good year overall” in 2023, with an excellent first half, but some weakness in its distribution business in the second half. It reports strength in its aerospace, medical, gas, and nuclear sectors, and sees potential in small nuclear reactors, CCUS and( further down the road) hydrogen. It also noted that higher energy costs are affecting the competitiveness of European producers of both stainless-steel and other items.
Tubacex improved its EBITA by 39.3 % year on year in September 2023, with a 21.8 % increase in sales. The Spanish
10 Stainless Steel World Americas- April 2025 | www. ssw-americas. com
company has a strong commitment to sustainability, specializing in hydrogen and CCUS( carbon capture, utilization & storage), as well as a secure position in the oil & gas and petrochemical sectors. Alleima’ s Q3 2023 report indicates revenue increases of 8 % and organic growth of 5 %. The company is heavily invested in products for the oil & gas and chemical & petrochemical sectors and is also active in the hydrogen field. Van Leeuwen Pipe and Tube reported record sales and profit for 2022.( Its figures for 2023 are not yet available.) Vallourec reported good results for 2023, with increased sales volumes driven by higher shipments in North America and the Eastern Hemisphere.
The Shell Appomattox deep-water asset prepares for successful production in May 2019 Gulf of Mexico, 80 miles southeast of the Louisiana Coastline, USA, 2018, © Photo Allison Smith.
Other companies that are expanding include Ukraine’ s Centravis which, despite difficulties in electrical supply and other disruptions caused by the war, is forging ahead with a new, fully automated production site in Uzhgorod in the west; and South Korea’ s SeAH, which is building a stainless-steel seamless pipes and tubes production facility in Saudi Arabia that will start operating in 2025.
Traditional industries Oil & gas
The world’ s thirst for energy is such that renewable energy installation scarcely seems to dent demand for oil and gas. Gas exploration and extraction is benefitting from the decreased availability of Russian gas. Among the most dynamic regions are Iraq, Brazilian pre-salt deepwater, Angola, and many others. Orders are pouring in for OCTG tubes from Alleima, Tenaris, and Vallourec, umbilicals from Alleima and Aker Solutions, and casing and tubing from Tenaris. Some of the recently announced projects are associated with decarbonization initiatives. For instance, TotalEnergies’ Gas Growth Integrated Project in Iraq, of which Vallourec is a supplier, involves flared gas recovery for power generation, seawater treatment and a solar power plant. Oil & gas extraction often goes hand in hand with CCUS projects.
Chemical and petrochemical
In the high-growth economies of the Middle East and Far East, chemical and petrochemical products are in great demand. This is why BASF is building an integrated petrochemicals plant in Guangdong, China, and why Alleima is boosting its capacity in tubing products, including high-alloy heat exchanger
( HE) tubes, by building a cold-finishing facility in Zhenjiang, China. MST has just strengthened its position by hiring a new team to cover this market.
Nuclear
Nuclear fission has been undergoing reappraisal because of rising gas prices and the need to reduce CO 2 emissions. A recent breakthrough is the Nuscale Small Modular Reactor( SMR), a type of pressurized watercooled reactor that can be built in a far shorter time than standard reactors, allowing the nuclear industry to respond more quickly to demand. As MST told me, the SMRs“ require solutions beyond today’ s feasibility in terms of grades and shapes, through an integration of design and material properties at the highest level.” In 2023 Alleima is supplying 200 km of steam generator tubes for the first SMR, and many more reactors are anticipated in the USA, in association with district heating, desalination, and hydrogen production.
Another company that has been active in nuclear energy is Tubacex. EDF was experiencing stress-corrosion-cracking issues in its French nuclear power stations, and Tubacex affiliate IBF( based in Italy) supplied forged and machined tubular components, fittings, and connections to overcome the problem.
Heat exchangers
A sure path towards decarbonization is to improve the efficiency of HEs. Advanced specialized materials are essential to achieve this goal. Alleima is evolving a programme to allow the most
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