DEME & Hellenic Cables Wins Contract For World's First Artificial Energy Island

A partnership consisting of Belgian shipowner and maritime services contractor DEME and Greece’s Hellenic Cables has been awarded a large contract to supply and install high-voltage subsea cables for the historic Princess Elisabeth Island in the Belgian North Sea.

This artificial energy island, created by grid operator Elia, is a world first since it combines both direct current (HVDC) and alternating current (HVAC) systems.

DEME’s contract, worth more than €300 million ($322.5 million), involves producing and installing 165 kilometres of undersea power cables to connect the energy island to Belgium’s onshore electrical infrastructure.

The cables will be made at Hellenic Cables’ factory in Greece, with shipment and installation planned for 2027.

DEME intends to complete the project using one of its cable-laying vessels, as well as numerous trailing suction hopper dredgers and jack-up vessels.

Princess Elisabeth Island will serve as a central hub for wind farm export cables from the gigawatt-scale Princess Elisabeth zone and for possible connections with other European states.

The energy island, 45 kilometres off the Belgian coast, is critical to developing a European high-voltage grid at sea.

DEME CEO Luc Vandenbulcke emphasized the importance of this project, stating that this new project has confirmed DEME’s leading position in the subsea power cable industry.

Their expertise in cable installation, dredging, rock dumping, and marine infrastructure projects, along with our contemporary and versatile fleet, provides our customers with an effective, comprehensive solution.

The construction of Princess Elisabeth Island was awarded to the TM EDISON partnership, which includes DEME and Jan De Nul, a Belgian company.

The contract was signed in early 2023, with the first caissons for the island scheduled to be immersed this year.

Jan De Nul and Korean enterprise LS Cable & System have also been assigned with cabling work, while the HSI consortium, which includes Belgian firm Iemants and Dutch companies HSM Offshore Energy and IV-Offshore & Energy, has won the contract for HVAC substations.

This project strengthens DEME’s market-leading position in the subsea cable sector.

The company is also working on the largest inter-array cabling project for the world’s largest wind farm, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, and has recently received major contracts with IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1.

In 2019, DEME successfully installed 85 kilometres of export cable for Elia’s Modular Offshore Grid (MOG 1).

Princess Elisabeth Island, Europe’s first artificial energy island, will play a critical role in the continent’s renewable energy landscape.

It will support the continent’s ambitious climate goals while also paving the way for future offshore energy advancements.

Reference: DEME Group

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