Watch: Jan De Nul Joins Forces To Build The World’s Largest Installation Vessels

To boldly go where no man has gone before. That is exactly what Jan De Nul does with the Voltaire and Les Alizés, the world’s largest and most powerful installation vessels of their kind (one on legs, one floating) that will build the next generation of offshore wind farms. Offshore Renewables, Newbuilding, Finance: various Jan De Nul departments have joined forces to bring this mega-project to a successful conclusion. From its earliest concept up to the vessels’ launch.

“If we want to continue playing a leading role on the offshore energy market, we need bigger and more powerful installation vessels.”

Philippe Hutse (Offshore Director)

“Global concern for the imminent climate change has given wind energy an enormous boost. The demand for offshore wind farms is increasing exponentially. We’ve conducted in-depth analyses of the market and our position in it. Offshore wind farms are prepared well in advance, you should easily count on a five-year term before a farm can be actually built.

The trend to build ever bigger and heavier turbines, blades and foundations, will continue in the future.

A couple of years ago, we installed turbines with a capacity of 3 MW, and soon we will now install 12 MW turbines. Developers are already aiming at even larger turbines, with accompanying components. This trend will not go on forever, but for now we haven’t yet seen the end of this evolution.”

“The trend to build ever bigger and heavier turbines, blades and foundations, will continue in the future.”

Koen Marchand (Operations Manager Renewables Department)

“It comes down to making the interface between ship and equipment as future-proof as possible.”

Robby de Backer (Newbuilding Director)

“Obviously, financing is a crucial part of this mega-project. Investments of this magnitude require a comprehensive financial analysis that takes into account the company’s overall investment programme as well as the current and expected market conditions. We did not rush into things. We’ve done our homework thoroughly.”

“Two brand new offshore installation vessels that will play a leading role in achieving global energy transition objectives. This investment perfectly fits the bill for a green loan. To strengthen our climate change ambitions even more, we concluded a green loan of 300 million euro with a consortium of five banks.

This green loan is subject to very strict conditions. Both during the construction of the installation vessels and after their delivery, we must report – together with an independent external expert – on the technical specifications and activities of both vessels. This means that as the company’s financial department we already needed quite a lot of information about the technical features and operations of the vessels when we were setting up the financing for them. This close cooperation with the departments Newbuilding and Offshore Renewables will be continued in the years ahead.”

“The investments in Voltaire and Les Alizés perfectly fit the bill for a green loan”

Aderic Nuytinck (Financial Manager)

VOLTAIRE

• Jack-up vessel (the jack-up platform on four legs, can lift itself from the water surface to create a stable work environment)
• Main crane of over 3,000 tonnes
• Operational depth of up to 80 metres
• Twice as much deck space as existing jack-up vessels
• Ultra-Low Emission vessel

LES ALIZÉS

• Floating installation vessel (can also install foundations in deeper waters and into more challenging sea beds)
• Main crane of 5,000 tonnes
• Deck loading capacity of 61,000 tonnes
• Also suited for dismantling platforms at sea
• Ultra-Low Emission vessel

Press Release

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