Don Quixote and the windmills… nowadays

If Don Quixote were to ride again through the steps of La Mancha, he would not fight against the windmills that moved the wheels to grind wheat. These giants with fabric-coated arms rotating lazily in front of the lance of the hidalgo knight errant look quite different now…

Today, that fight would be even more unequal, as windmills have now turned into 90 metre high towers. Don Quixote would never manage to knock down these colossi, supported on steel feet and which react swiftly to the slightest puff of wind. Not in vain does Spain rank 3^rd in the world in terms of installed wind power!

If the ingenious gentleman, born of Cervantes’ imagination, were to come to life today and march through Spain, he would not recognise his country. Besides the time elapsed, the greater part of the transformation undergone by Spain results from technological progress, of which steelmaking is a great example.

From the famed Toledan swords, that played such an important part in numerous epic battles in Spanish history, to today’s steel grades, there has been a constant technological evolution.

Now, there is only one battle these steel giants want to win: the environmental battle – through the generation of clean energy!

Authors: Ignacio Agreda and Oscar Fleites, ArcelorMittal Spain, Communications