Selmers in Het Financieele Dagblad: Pipelines are a lifeline

Wind farms and hydrogen plants get much of the attention, but without the right pipelines to and from these facilities, the energy transition is unfeasable. Every pipeline for gas, hydrogen or CO₂ must also withstand corrosion, pressure and aggressive substances for decades. The coating that provides this protection largely determines whether a project can operate safely, economically and sustainably.

For almost sixty years, Selmers in Beverwijk has been building factories and production lines for coating steel pipes for the international pipeline industry. Founded in 1966, the Dutch family-owned company now has almost six hundred references worldwide and has supplied technology for projects including Nord Stream 1 and 2, the Northern Endurance Partnership and Porthos. While many companies in the industry supply individual machines, Selmers builds complete production lines, including automation, quality control and software.

Jan Peter Biersteker, Sales Director LINEPIPE at Selmers, sees the market undergoing a fundamental shift. “The pipe coating market has become highly international. Where suppliers once served a country or continent, they now operate worldwide.” Of the handful of companies that have been active in the market for decades, only Selmers remains. Over the past ten years, however, a new wave of entrants has emerged, many of them from Asia.

Safety comes first

Outside the industry, coating is often underestimated, even though it directly affects safety and security of supply. Pipelines carry gas, oil, hydrogen or CO₂, which can be explosive, flammable or polluting in the event of a leak. Their design life is now around fifty years, with construction costs of between one and two million euros per kilometre.

“The security of our energy and drinking water supply, and nowadays also the transport of CO₂, depends to a large extent on the quality of these pipelines,” says Biersteker. Conflicts and declining domestic gas production are increasing the pressure for new infrastructure, while global energy demand continues to rise despite the transition to greener energy.

New requirements

Natural gas pipelines face different risks from the networks now being built for hydrogen and CO₂. With hydrogen, the main focus is on preventing permeation and hydrogen embrittlement of the steel. For CO₂ transport, corrosion control is crucial because moisture in the stream can form carbonic acid that attacks the steel.

Selmers supplies technology for a range of applications: anti-corrosion coatings such as FBE and 3LPE/3LPP, friction-reducing epoxy flow coatings on the inside and concrete weight coatings for offshore pipelines. “For Selmers, hydrogen is not something for the future,” says Biersteker. “We have been preparing for it for years, investing in innovation, automation and knowledge development.”

One example is Aramis, the Dutch CO₂ storage project at Maasvlakte by Shell, TotalEnergies, Gasunie and EBN, which is scheduled to become operational around 2030. In the short term, the project requires approximately two hundred kilometres of pipeline, four times as much as Porthos, with a capacity of 22 million tonnes of CO₂ per year. Around sixteen thousand pipes need to be coated, each weighing more than twenty tonnes after the concrete weight coating has been applied. A local coating plant near Maasvlakte could significantly reduce transport, emissions and risks, as transport accounts for a substantial part of the total investment in a pipeline project. In addition, the latest coating technology could reduce emissions by around ten per cent while improving the quality of the finished product.

Data drives the process

But automation and process control have changed the industry most over the past decades, from manual work to integrated production systems. “It is no longer just about applying a coating, but about optimising the entire process, from surface preparation to inspection and data recording,” Biersteker explains.

Customers expect full traceability: for every pipe, it must be possible to demonstrate which parameters were used and whether the specifications were met. Sensors and real-time monitoring make it possible to adjust processes before deviations occur, resulting in less downtime and material loss. According to Biersteker, Selmers is therefore increasingly shifting from machine builder to technology partner, involved from the initial concept to well into the lifecycle of an installation. “Customers are not just choosing a production line, but a partner who thinks along with them.”

Sustainability gains

The greatest sustainability benefit of coating lies not in the production process itself, but in the longer service life it makes possible. A pipeline that lasts longer requires fewer replacement investments, less material and lower CO₂ emissions over its entire lifecycle. Energy efficiency in new installations also reduces operating costs for customers.

In the coming years, Biersteker expects growth particularly in offshore projects. Within five to ten years, he sees hydrogen and CO₂ infrastructure developing into one of the defining markets for the industry, with high demands on material selection and coating performance.

According to Biersteker, policymakers would do well to view infrastructure not as a cost, but as a strategic investment. Predictable regulation and a long-term vision are needed, as energy projects have investment horizons spanning decades. Investing in pipelines and transport capacity today lays the foundation for future energy security and competitiveness.