Lolland may play a key role in the battle for steel

Security of supply, access to raw materials and climate targets have moved to the centre of Europe’s industrial agenda. War and geopolitical instability have made the sourcing of key materials less certain, while the strains on supply chains in recent years have exposed how vulnerable the system is. At the same time, pressure is growing to cut CO₂ emissions from heavy industry. That is sharpening interest in solutions where raw materials are not simply imported and consumed, but increasingly recovered, documented and fed back into production.

Against that backdrop, Renable, a company focused on circular economy solutions and digital documentation, has produced a report for Danish Maritime examining the potential for a Nordic centre for ship dismantling and steel recycling in Rødbyhavn. Based on more than 100 interviews, the report gives the plans a more concrete shape.

For Jens Klit Thomsen, Renable’s chief executive and co-founder, the project speaks directly to some of Europe’s most pressing industrial challenges.

“It is about steel, a critical raw material that we currently import on a large scale from China. Before the war in Ukraine, much of it came from Russia and Ukraine. By dismantling ships here, imports can be reduced because steel from end-of-life vessels can be brought back into use,” he says.

The report focuses in particular on the largest vessels, the so-called Post-Panamax ships measuring more than 300 metres, many of which are expected to reach the end of their service lives in the coming years. According to the report, Europe currently lacks sufficient capacity to handle ships of this size, because most existing dismantling facilities are built for smaller vessels and are constrained by quay length, dry-dock capacity and water depth.

New value chain

At its core, the project seeks to link circular economy principles with both industrial policy and supply security. The idea is that decommissioned ships should not simply be broken up, but should feed a new value chain in which steel, metals and equipment are reused rather than replaced by fresh imports. Recycling steel could also cut CO₂ emissions by as much as 90 per cent compared with primary production.

In that sense, the project rests on two ambitions at once: lowering the climate footprint and strengthening Europe’s access to a raw material that is essential to industry, construction and manufacturing.

In the report, Rødbyhavn is presented as a location with unusual advantages. Much of that comes down to the element factory, where the large halls and dry docks are already in place.

“Three dry docks of that size are entirely unique. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world,” says Mr Thomsen.

Production of the tunnel elements will end before the tunnel itself is completed, meaning the site could, in principle, take on a new function before the wider Fehmarn project is finished.

“It is important to get started. You could easily begin with one hall at a time,” he says.

Maersk background

The future of the element factory has long been part of the debate in the area, and other possible uses, including military purposes, have also been raised. With the new report, Rødbyhavn is now being presented as a possible base for a new industrial activity centred on recovering steel and other materials from ships.

For Renable, the project is closely tied to the company’s work on circular economy, documentation and traceability. Mr Thomsen spent more than 20 years at Maersk and was most recently chief executive of Maersk Decom, which focused on the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations. Renable’s two other co-founders also spent many years at Maersk, most recently at Maersk Decom, before launching the company. In his view, that background means the company is well used to handling large and complex projects.

Possible EU support

The project also suggests that ship dismantling in Rødbyhavn should not be understood in purely traditional terms. Robotics form part of the concept as well, and Mr Thomsen points to collaboration with Robot Technology in Odense, Large Structure Production at Lindø and the University of Southern Denmark. The ambition is to combine heavy industry, technology and recycling in one integrated model.

The project’s progress is also reflected in the fact that discussions have already been held with Sund & Bælt, the state-owned company that owns the element factory.

Mr Thomsen does not hide the fact that a project on this scale would require substantial capital and broad backing. It would involve a model in which major investors play a role, and in which both the EU and the Danish state could also become important if the plans are to be realised.

He also estimates that a facility in Rødbyhavn could create around 500 jobs on the site itself, with a further 1,500 in related industries.