GOVERNMENT investment could turn Britain’s last plate steel mill into a world-leading producer of wind turbine components, the steelworkers’ trade union Community said today.

The Dalzell steelworks has dominated the Motherwell skyline for more than 150 years and has come to specialise in producing the high-quality heavy steel plate required by industry and essential to military shipbuilding.

Now the union has called for renewed investment in the Liberty Steel-owned site to deliver a modernisation of the works, making the most of its “huge strategic importance and potential.”

The union’s Steel Reforged report notes that 90 per cent of the metal required in the manufacture of wind turbines is steel plate, and a modern plate mill would allow Dalzell to build the steel that is necessary to meet demand in the sector expected to reach up to 25 million tonnes by 2050.

“The first priority should be upgrading our existing plate mill at Dalzell,” the report says, ahead of the expected publications of the Westminister government’s own steel strategy and wider industrial strategy this spring.

Community general secretary Roy Rickhuss called for the government to mandate or incentivise the use of British-made steel in energy, defence and infrastructure-related projects.

He also urged action to cut electricity costs for manufacturers in an industry that supports 33,000 jobs and contributes £2.3 billion to the British economy and £3.4bn to its balance of trade.

“With the right investment, it could become a world-leading producer of the plate required for steel turbines as well as meeting demand for procurement in other areas, including the defence sector,” he said. “There is huge potential for our steel industry in the years ahead.

“The UK government’s commitment to investing in infrastructure and growth, and the wider path towards a greener economy, will require enormous amounts of steel product.

“Our argument is that we should be making that steel here in the UK, supporting thousands of well-paid jobs right across the country and investing in the skills and experience that we have in our world-class steel workforce.”

A Department for Business & Trade spokesperson said: “This government will not allow the end of steelmaking in the UK.

“Decarbonisation must not mean deindustrialisation, and we’re exploring all options to help us achieve a green steel transition that delivers on our Plan for Change, protecting the workforce, taxpayers and industry.”