PES Wind 4 2022

ASK THE EXPERTS Which is greener, the helicopter or hybrid vessels? During a 12-hour trip to a wind farm 40 nautical miles offshore, a hybrid CTV will eIfmaith4e1l%icolepstserCO2 compared to a conventional CTV. were used for the transport, sCaOv2incoguoldf be reduced by 73%. For Europe, that is a 67,000 to 1m17il,l0io0n0staovneodfinCOc2aprbeor nyetaaxr, or between 8 to 14 if the tax was the same rate as in Sweden. PES sat down with DECK1 CEO Jim Hededal Nielsen to do some number crunching. PES: Hi and welcome back to PES Jim. support strategic early-stage planning and Sustainability is important, but what is independent automated reporting. We aim the cost of prioritizing ‘green’ transport to be the strategic aviation department over conventional? Does it pay off to use on-demand, as well as the digital follow-up green options? system to document operational progress and emissions. Jim Hededal Nielsen: The short answer is, I don’t know! Looking at fuel costs going up, PES: Saving up to 14 million euros in carbon and country administrations focusing on tax is a lot, but I guess not all countries carbon taxes, my guess is that it is important have that high a goal? to track and consider. However, the current shortage of CTVs and increased charter JHN: Correct, Sweden and Finland are rates definitely steer focus towards ‘just among the most ambitious countries when it getting transportation’, rather than looking comes to reducing carbon emissions, and are at emissions reductions. The long term using taxation to guide development towards solution could be large hybrid CTVs that can the sustainable goals. stay in the field, and the here-and-now solution could be the helicopter. Discussions and plans from many regulatory institutions were focused on The helicopter can extend the operational sustainable goals before the Ukraine window as well, providing offshore O&Ms invasion. Now, understandably, the focus with stable access to the wind farm during fall has switched to a race to expand the and winter months, and the cost for that production of renewable energy. service will be approximately the same as for a CVT. However, the sustainable goals were set for a reason and we have developed a software Companies such as DHSS and HeliOIS have tool to easily perform planning and made good business out of supporting automatically track emissions across the offshore renewables, with helicopter logistic chain. The time it takes to collect support and back-logistical setups, as data can be reduced, and manpower freed up, one-point-of-contact arrangements. without losing sight of the longer goal of DECK1 supports this with unified data to sustainable energy production. WWW.PESWIND.COM 51

ASK THE EXPERTS According to taxfoundation.org and others, We even have on-demand analytics that lets capability is of high priority, while a changes are coming. The Norwegian you compare day by day for all wind farms. combination of helicopter and a hybrid CTV offshore sector has already made changes to could prove best option during standard O&M mitigate the expected increase in emission If deeper analytics is required, we are able to phase where fast transport and wide taxes, and we believe that it will come to provide this as well with our proprietary data. accessibility window is priority. offshore renewables as well, where the Our unique ability to include helicopters and construction and O&M vessels play a big role. asset details from our catalog gives us the PES: If you are an aviation department opportunity to provide a strategic report, on-demand, why do you collect data That is why we have introduced both a and follow-up with automatic reports based on vessels? consultancy service with proprietary data to on the original strategy, in order to validate support analytical reports, as well as a data the result. JHN: Comparing aviation and marine service, either as an API or on-demand solutions based on real time data brings a dashboard for tracking, setting baselines and PES: You mention both helicopters and certain level of recognition to the marine comparing sites and projects on a deeper vessels. How do you compare the two very oriented O&Ms. level if required. different asset types? We are collecting more than 1 million ADSB PES: If you don’t know if the green options JHN: By downscaling the comparing factors. and AIS data captures each day and are pay off, why should O&M’s strategic As an example, if I want to compare the continuously building on our database and planners work with you? I guess they are transport section for a specific wind farm, I our solution. The reason for including vessel quite intelligent and have comprehensive can downscale it to compare ‘X per PAX/KM’. data is to be able to track the market in usage data as well? ‘X’ is in this example cost and CO2. So, if I have of asset types, unifying data for the end user 10 PAX, traveling 100KM, costing 20.000€ it including helicopters, drones and vessels. JHN: I agree, of course. The O&Ms are very would be = 20€ per PAX/KM. good at planning and are making intelligent The aviation department on-demand has a decisions based on their operational data You can look at the graphs and deduct a place in the offshore industry, since it is a and experience. The reduced LCoE is proof lot when you are able to compare ‘apples marine oriented industry and aviation is a of that. with apples’. niche. We are able to fill this niche with very experienced persons and immediately Some O&Ms use broker houses to provide Obviously, this is a generic example for this compare the suggested aviation solutions analytical documents for them to support article, but in real life data, we see the same with known operations from the marine their decisions. The broker houses are very picture. Transport with helicopters is in industry. It brings a certain familiarity to the professional and some of them also have general compatible with CTV transport when decision makers as well as peace of mind. unique data, but at the end of the day, they the distance becomes 45 nautical miles or also provide a service to the market by more offshore, and SOVs are not used for Since we have the data and the platform can brokering charters in the same market. transport but to increase work time on site. handle it, we saw an opportunity to utilize this into emission benchmarking, tracking My point is that we have independent data of The further offshore the wind farm is located, and automated daily reports. more than 95% of all vessels and helicopters the more favorable the helicopter combined supporting the offshore renewable sector, with an SOV, or the Hybrid CTV with stay-on- We are not as detailed as Shoreline or and are able to compare across many site capabilities becomes. During campaigns Spinergie in historical analytical details on operations, sites and transportation types. and construction where time to completion is vessels, but we are very good at giving users the priority, the SOV or CTVs with stay onsite real-time data on multiple assets on specific 52 PES WIND

ASK THE EXPERTS parameters at a very competitive price. This both helicopter operators and charters. DECK1 provides transparency with our gives an opportunity for the user to have a combination of proprietary data, experience daily auto generated report, or to look up a As mentioned earlier, offshore renewable is and aviation department on-demand for wind farm, via our platform, and get details a marine heavy industry, and the easy way is companies that do not have an established directly via the collected data. to choose what is known to them. In the aviation department or those who need to wind farms I viewed from the UK and have their aviation department supported in PES: So back to the question in our headline, German waters there were between two and peak periods. which is the greenest option? six CTVs per day. My guess, without having looked into the details, is that a helicopter We are looking forward to many more JHN: Helicopters, absolutely! The hybrid could have saved both time and money for projects with services and support. vessels are closing the gap, but at the same the O&Ms. time offshore wind farms are moving further www.deck1.com offshore which favors the helicopter. Our software will be able to take a ‘snapshot’ of the current operations and compare directly online. Or we can generate more detailed reports by using our back-end data. While preparing for this interview I viewed some wind farms in Germany and the UK of similar size and distance from shore. The CTV transport speed in the UK was usually 5-6 KTS faster with the same type vessels. There might be many reasons for this, but when asking, the O&M in Germany has requested the CTV operator to reduce speed to save fuel and make a more comfortable transit. PES: Why is the helicopter not used more in the logistic setup? JHN: Helicopters are considered expensive and difficult to plan undertake operations. This perception was confirmed during an event DECK1 held in the Netherlands with WWW.PESWIND.COM 53

THINK TANK Together with its partners, ZF Wind Power respond to the market evolution with the most powerful complete powertrains Empowering a sustainable future together All major regions aim to be climate neutral by 2050. Renewables-based electrification across the economy will be key to this ambition. Wind energy will play an important role in providing clean and competitive power in all major regions. Europe and other regions want faster implementation, putting even more pressure on supply and changing how businesses work together. We must rethink how we create new opportunities to increase competitiveness in this challenge. 54 PES WIND

THINK TANK Covering market flexibility: from modular supplies the most powerful complete by switching from a conventional ‘outside- gearbox to modular powertrain concepts powertrains. In 2020, ZF launched the in’ assembly method to a novel ‘inside-out’ EnVentus powertrain together with Vestas. methodology. This makes it possible to Market demands are rapidly changing regarding With a capacity of 6MW, this complete enhance planet carrier stiffness maximally the pace of introducing new turbine variants, powertrain was the most powerful onshore while optimizing carrier and gear-stage thus bringing flexibility in development to meet powertrain. A few years later, both partners mass in a multi-planet stage design. market requirements. As a gearbox joined forces again and launched the manufacturer, ZF responded to these early V236-15.0MW powertrain onto the market. By introducing the full-scale modular trends back in 2016 by presenting a new With a 15 MW output, the V236-15.0 MW is concept at the gearbox level, ZF can now modular gearbox platform concept ‘SHIFT.’ one of the most powerful gearboxes ever rely on more than seven years of Thanks to standardized building blocks, the developed for wind turbine use. The torque experience in compact and flexible designs platform helps wind turbine manufacturers level is more than three times higher than that reduce weight and increase output and offer high flexibility in adapting wind turbine the EnVentus powertrain. will further expand this knowledge to designs to changing market requirements while create complete powertrains. reducing the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE). The first-stage planet carrier incorporates several highly innovative features Assembling the future: process modularity The market is shifting to a higher gear, and the supporting very compact designs (Torque industry requires higher torque levels. LCoE Density 210 Nm/kg). This planetary stage Challenges in R&D are followed by reduction pressure remains valid. The absorbs the highest input torque; the challenges in production processes. ZF aims availability of materials and innovation to components are also the largest and have to reutilize existing and proven production upscale wind turbine output is triggering the the most mass. Cost savings can be facilities for new designs. Integrating new wind industry to continuously revise its portfolio achieved by reducing the outer gearbox concepts, additional operations, and bigger and roadmaps. The increasing size of diameter and other components, such as a products into existing facilities is a powertrains imposes bigger logistical ring gear size, in line with that reduction. challenging process. It requires innovative challenges. Cost management shifts from the The use of compact journal bearings, now a and new assembly technologies and tools to component to the system level. This opens new proven mature wind gearbox technology for master the complexity and maintain opportunities for strategic suppliers to work ZF, is almost a must in these high torque operational efficiency. together with wind turbine manufacturers and stages. Three stages are now common for offer new solutions in the supply chain. Close larger scale, that are higher rated and/or To integrate products on the shop floor, ZF cooperation is needed between all stakeholders. with larger rotors, wind turbines. The uses advanced software to create a digital engineers tackled the combined first-stage twin of the facility before rebuilding the plant Empowering a sustainable future together planet carrier challenges by minimizing and setting up the assembly process. This internal spacing between the planet gears encompasses all necessary assembly and Together with its partners, ZF innovates logistical steps to be virtually predefined, with compact and modular designs and checked in 3D, optimized, and validated. This results in swiftly integrating new processes ZF Wind Power forecasts a continued increase in torque requirements with new onshore developments in the into the existing manufacturing facilities. The 7,000-8,500 kNm segment and even exceeding 10,000 kNm in the midterm in some markets company strives for full modularity of production processes, complete powertrain testing, validation, and pre-commissioning under one roof. Future-proving growth: extensive in-house validation With the development and production of the complete 15 MW powertrain, ZF Wind Power proves they are actively preparing for the future. The team is convinced that the evolution and dynamics in the wind market will require a whole new level of testing and validation of modular powertrains that will drive the new generation of wind turbines. In the wind gearbox supply chain, ZF forecasts a continued increase in torque requirements with new onshore developments in the 7,000-8,500 kNm segment and even exceeding 10,000 kNm in the midterm in some markets offshore to double this torque evolution. WWW.PESWIND.COM 55

THINK TANK ‘With the Test and Prototype Center, ZF Wind takes the validation of future powertrain concepts to a whole new level and sets an industry benchmark.’ The back-to-back 30 MW test bench validates complete powertrain systems for both onshore and offshore turbine applications As an answer, ZF Wind Power invested in an Extensive validation is the foundation of ZF’s ZF Wind Power in-house Test & Prototype Center. Besides innovations. Testing allows containment of the capabilities of prototype assembly, the risks inherent to the wind industry and is ZF Wind Power is a worldwide leading instrumentation, and a wide variety of testing essential to receive approval from technology driven manufacturer and ranging from component testing over no-load customers, insurers, and certification service partner in the global wind testing to (sub-)module testing, the center agencies in order to launch new designs. turbine gearbox industry. The company also boasts the world’s strongest test rig. From this standpoint, ZF is expanding its is leading the high-performance offering by investing in and driving a culture onshore segments with products up to This back-to-back 30 MW test bench of standardization and collaboration 8000 kNm and first in exceeding 200 validates complete powertrain systems for throughout the industry. Nm/kg torque density in compact both onshore and offshore wind turbine modular platform designs. applications. With a length of sixty meters, ZF Wind Power has been the market the rig will test the functional behavior of the front-runner since 2010 with its self- ZF delivered the world’s first offshore 9.5 main bearings, the gearbox, and the developed robustness Testing Program, MW wind turbine gearbox and delivered, generator at a system level under real DORoTe (Design Operational Robustness in close cooperation with its partner, the conditions with functional load tests, Testing). Now, with the Test and Prototype first prototypes of the next generation dynamics, robustness tests, and system Center, the back-to-back 30 MW test bench offshore powertrains. The company has integration tests, as well dynamics in torque validates complete powertrain systems for the largest global installed capacity of +8 as non- torque, or bending moments, both onshore and offshore wind turbine MW offshore wind turbine gearboxes. loading. It covers a maximum torque of 45 applications. With more than seven years of MNm, a maximum bending moment of 64 modular gearbox designs and 20 years of Since they entered the wind industry in MNm, and a maximum axial force of 7,500 kN. integrated powertrain design experience, 1979, ZF Wind Power has delivered more The 30MW motors performing high-torque the team will be able to produce the next than 80 000 gearboxes, powering as much twisting are positioned at each end of the generation of wind turbine powertrains up as 180 GW, mainly high-performance wind powertrains under test. Additionally, a to 30 MW and accelerate the speed at which turbines, covering almost 25 percent of specially designed load unit is located the global energy system is being the total installed capacity of geared- between the powertrains and applies the transformed. It demonstrates ZF’s driven wind turbines worldwide. With its wind loads needed to simulate the varying commitment to wind and the strong belief in partners the company constantly invests real-world conditions. Together, the motors the future of this renewable energy source. in the wind market to empower a and the load unit can simulate the harshest sustainable future together. torque loads as well as non-torque loads. www.zf.com/windpower 56 PES WIND

Transform your critical bolting processes Intelligent tools with integrated data capture deliver traceability, error-proofing and data-driven insights on all your bolted joint connections. Acheive excellence with Smart Connected Bolting. atlascopco.com

THINK TANK Digital data from critical connections Words: Jonas Lundgren How can the value of data from bolted joint connections deliver a competitive advantage across the wind industry? During the construction and operation of wind farms, there are lots of data being collected for various purposes. When it comes to the most important elements in the entire structure, the nuts and bolts that are holding the turbine structure together and securing electrical conductivity, the documentation so far has been very manual, using pen and paper. 58 PES WIND

In a typical wind turbine today around 10,000 THINK TANK bolts are assembled and all of them are critical to the structural integrity and and electronics in recent years through long-term performance of the turbine. But implementation of smart connected for how many of them do we have real data assembly solutions. records confirming how they were assembled Wind energy is catching up with the use of or by whom and with what components. smart tooling, i.e., tools with inbuilt intelligence for critical assembly, in most new This poses a few interesting questions, such manufacturing plants such as nacelle or as why is it that digitalization has not reached gearbox production, and these tools are further to include the bolting operations in connected to MES systems to enable construction or service of wind turbines? traceability, error proofing and process What would the benefits be to the wind optimisation. But what happens when the industry with a wider adoption of digital turbines are installed in the field? solutions when assembling bolted joint There is a significant amount of critical connections? What is the current cost of bolting operations that take place in missing data, and for how much longer can construction, commissioning and the industry afford it? maintenance which have a direct impact on the turbine performance, reliability and cost. Smart factory is common, but what about However, the reality is that in many cases the field operations? conventional bolting methods, such as conventional hydraulic wrenches, bolt The smart factory is a term we all know well tensioners and rather basic forms of battery and is used in reference to the or electric tools are still being used. implementation of Industry 4.0 in the This is primarily due to old work processes manufacturing environment. remaining in place, outdated tool fleets, and a general lack of awareness exactly how Significant benefits such as improved quality, smart factory thinking can really be applied in higher productivity and cost reductions have the field with the technology and solutions transformed industries such as automotive available on the market today, not only as stand-alone tools, but also with the capability to record, interpret and share data from the bolted joints in the field. For example, intelligent tightening tools, often referred to as ‘Smart tools’ like the Tensor SRB battery nut runner, provide full torque and angle documentation. Smart tensioning tools like the STS system measure force (kN) as well as the torque and angle applied to lock the nut WWW.PESWIND.COM 59

THINK TANK in situ. These tools are designed to guide the digitalisation of data records could deliver Atlas Copco has been part of this journey, operator, control the process, and secure the immediate advantages. ever since the launch of its first connected quality of the joint but they also provide a tightening controller, the Power Focus 3000, digital record of the job done. In this article Mobile connectivity, cloud computing and more than 20 years ago. Its ToolsNet we’ll look at how to unlock the value of the smart devices like phones and tablets are database software is the backbone for digital data provided by these tools. enablers for digital transformation in all areas, documentation at hundreds of including operational sites. As true smart manufacturing plants around the world in all The wind industry is well positioned bolting tools, i.e., those with real sensors built types of industries, from automotive, for change into the tools, now start to have a stronger electronics, aerospace, and today also presence in the market, there is a great renewable energy. A challenge in any digitalization endeavour is opportunity to improve quality control, work undefined ways of working. If it’s not clear smarter and lower cost across the industry. Digital documentation on bolted what should be digitised, the chances of connections has evolved from simply success are slim at best. The wind industry Digitalization in manufacturing for the last replacing manual markings, for example with on the other hand is well positioned. 20 years paint, and paper documentation of fasteners Operating procedures are well defined and into a vital tool for data driven process documented already, however the challenge The last two decades have seen a revolution in optimization and decisions making. Service is that this documentation is handled in a terms of digitalization in manufacturing. campaigns, process changes and investment manual way today which relies heavily on the Global competition is driving waste reduction decisions are supported by real time taken human factor which can be influenced, and and bad quality is simply not accepted. In from information provided by large furthermore it is not very efficient as it takes some areas digital documentation has even databases with tightening data. time. These are clear areas where been accelerated by regulatory requirements. The graph shows angle values for First and Second pass. The first pass angle is too low for a section of the Misalignment of the flange flange and was indicated as NOK to the operator. The second round shows higher than expected rotation for the corresponding bolts that brings the total rotation up to the expected level. The second pass angle indicates flange settlements due to initial misalignment 60 PES WIND

THINK TANK Customers of everyday products from the contractors and service providers, Inspiration: automotive, an industries mentioned above, such as regulators, and owners, etc. Digital industry transformed automobiles, phones, and appliances have documentation gives transparency and a enjoyed the benefits of increased quality and ‘right from me’ in every step of the way. With The automotive industry can serve as lowered costs. trusted documentation available, sub positive inspiration. That industry has optimization can be avoided with cross come a long way since the introduction Case study: flange misalignment industry cost savings as a result. of the moving assembly line by Henry Ford in 1908. Modern cars come in a vast Atlas Copco was recently involved in a case of Digital bolting tools that provide pressure, variety of models to attract unique analysing abnormal flange tensioning results torque and angle documentation are now customer groups and they have never together with a customer. The flange was making their way into the wind industry. been more complex to build. tensioned with Smart Bolt Tensioners That enables digital documentation on a large supplied from Atlas Copco so digital scale, but the real value is unlocked when data There are also increasing demands documentation was available. is shared, analysed and improvements are from government regulators around implemented across the industry. the world. Despite these challenges, The technicians on site were frustrated, the manufacturers have been able to push Tensioning tools did not allow them to The wind industry is a tough business. Time cost down and increase production continue to the next bolt. The Angle values pressure, cost, weather conditions and rough volumes to reach almost 80 million measured when securing the nut after work environments pose a constant threat to cars in 2021. Bad quality is not pressurisation were below the specified limit, projects and are cause for concerns. Have accepted by the global consumer i.e., indicating that studs had not been technicians followed instructions? Do the market and re-tightening nuts and sufficiently elongated. They tried everything instructions provide enough guidance? bolts at the service station is a thing at their disposal, including changing out bolts, Do technicians have the right tools for the of the past. A wide adoption of digital but the tools continued to indicate low angle. job? Are bolts and other components ways of working has been a key factor according to specification? for success. There were several theories as to what caused the problem. Was it caused by the The benefits of digital documentation are Industry leaders working together technician’s way of working, bolt material clear. Less time spent on paperwork as problems or issues with the tension tools? digital documentation simply replaces the Successful digitalization requires need for it. Tightening data is only a few technology providers and users A thorough analysis, supported by the available clicks away. Instant access and sharing of working together to find the best recorded data taken from the smart tensioning data speeds up the resolution and approval practical solutions. As we have talked tool, revealed flange misalignment to be the time for flanges with issues. With about in this article, The Wind industry root cause. As a direct result of the findings, transparent information focus is given to is well positioned for change. pre-assembly instructions were changed and the right improvement actions. When a Technology is readily available, and communicated in the organisation. It was also problem has been identified, finding the rest the benefits are clear. concluded that the technicians on site had of them is a case of browsing through a followed given instructions and there were no database for similarities, not sending crews Atlas Copco have experience in this bolt material or tooling issues. on missions up tower or out to sea to check transformation process, and are eager to bolts. Less service campaigns and checks support the Wind industry with new In the end, hours of rework could be avoided are required and therefore significantly innovation, open standards and and focus given to get the right actions in place. reduced service costs can be achieved when continuous improvement together with correct bolt status is secured at the time of customers and industry peers. Smarter ways of working initial assembly. Summary The construction and maintenance of wind turbines involve OEMs, certifying bodies, The impact of poor documentation, the consequential quality and service costs is apparent. Intelligent bolting tools are entering the sector not only in the factory, but very specifically now in the field during installation and service, and we believe the future of wind will be a digitalized world with significantly improved quality control, faster feed-back loops and lowering of cost across the industry. For companies that have taken the leap there is no turning back. Running any critical operation without the insights and support of digital documentation is simply unthinkable, so why should it be different when assembly critical bolted joint connections? To conclude, it's worth considering a very important question. What is the cost of bad joints in your operations, and for how much longer can you afford it? www.atlascopco.com WWW.PESWIND.COM 61

ASK THE EXPERTS On good advice As renewable energy becomes the primary source of power in the future, modern, special and sustainable ships need to be ready to work and integrate in this market. We spoke to Nikol Hearn, M&A and fund advisor at Waterworks, about how the company is acting in its own innovative way to shape the future of the renewable energy industry with modern ship finance, high-quality investment and sound advice. PES: Welcome to PES Nikol. Could we begin more context, the offshore renewables projects. Basically, I am optimising the with an introduction to Waterworks, and industry is centred on fixed and floating connection between appropriate projects, where it sits within the industry? offshore wind, accompanying hydrogen including their financial structure with generation as well as their upstream and funding sources, where the capital objective Nikol Hearn: Thank you for having me today. downstream supply chains. and risk profile are a suitable match. Yes sure, Waterworks is an advisory company specialising in the offshore renewable PES: What is your role within the business? PES: You have a strong focus on specialised industry. We focus on financing the vessels and assets, is that right? accompanying maritime and infrastructure NH: My role is as an M&A and fund advisor. as well as providing Mergers & Acquisitions My experience has been on the buy side, NH: The vessels we look at are specialised in (M&A) expertise in this space. To provide having focused on offshore renewables, terms of having the ability to provide the both the vessels and infrastructure appropriate expertise for complicated 62 PES WIND

ASK THE EXPERTS offshore wind farm installation and NH: Yes, the need and urgency to develop financial challenges and implications also operations in often rough sea conditions. renewables as the source of power is grow. Would you agree? The assets consist of the accompanying growing as energy securitisation is being infrastructure which this industry relies on. prioritised. Post the Ukraine invasion and NH: What we are seeing now in terms of This ranges from the warehouses which the net zero goals we have seen this uncertainty of precisely which technology store the turbines and equipment, to the momentum accelerate. By the end of 2019 and how exactly it will all work together, i.e., port and quay development, as well as the offshore wind represented about $26 billion categorising the risks, is nothing new for this actual wind farms themselves. in annual investments. This has ramped up industry. This is even more so the case in massively, in the first half of 2022, floating wind currently, where the A key part of this industry, which gets investment in the offshore wind sector technologies are considered to work from a overlooked, is the green technology behind amounted to $32 billion, 52 per cent more technical point of view, but none have been the assets, which is a riskier investment given than in the same period in 2021, according tested in full as regards to large scale the early-stage nature of the projects, but to BloombergNEF. manufacturing and installation, and their without funding this capital-intensive cost on a serial basis is not necessarily fully industry will not be able to adequately evolve. This is only going to continue to present identified yet. But the good news is that we Thus, we also look at the early-stage green investment opportunities, as the offshore have seen this before, faced by the fixed- technology and how we can assist them wind installed base is set to grow tenfold bottom offshore wind industry 15 years ago. through direct funding or via a strategic from 53GW in 2021 to 504GW in 2035. We are M&A partner. already seeing increased offshore wind We are witnessing the fruition of many of the targets, The United Kingdom, France and earlier stage investments despite the risks PES: With renewable energy building up to Germany are just a few of the countries which having been uncertain and the future unclear. be the primary source of power in the future have done so. What we are seeing is successful navigation and offshore wind playing a huge part in the by financiers, having been done on ongoing transition, the potential for PES: As wind turbines get bigger and competitive terms, with smart financial investment must be significant? offshore wind parks larger presumably the engineering backed by projects delivering an excellent track record. The financial challenges of uncertainty of risk in new sectors is not something to worry about in terms of creating significant bottlenecks for the industry. Smart financial engineering has been one of the driving factors for the substantial drop in the cost of electricity generated by offshore wind farms as the industry has thoroughly investigated the risks. This will be successfully done again as capital is available and ready to prod the risks and appropriate returns with smart financial engineering. The industry therefore benefits from the fact that it is both inherently risky, construction in an un-favourable location, with multiple contractors that are relatively lesser-known names, and perceived to be risky. PES: How does Waterworks seek to help with this changing financial landscape? NH: What is very important is understanding and thoroughly investigating the risks of the projects presented to us before we go about sourcing the funding. We need to be cognisant that some projects may not have the appropriate financial structure in place given the risks. Our job in a sense is to protect the capital and to thus assist with correct risk pricing, which is essential for this industry to navigate this next phase of uncertainty. I think the real risk is if the industry gets complacent about correctly pricing the risk given the successful turn it has had with the bottom fixed projects and accompanying returns. We need to assist with ensuring this does not happen to safeguard the capital and financial system. PES: How important is it to have the financial infrastructure in place? NH: Much of the importance of this has been touched on above. But to highlight further, wind is a capital-intensive technology where WWW.PESWIND.COM 63

ASK THE EXPERTS most of the money is spent upfront and projects. The same goes for the vessel Nikol Hearn running costs are relatively low. Thus, component of the investment process. If ensuring that the financiering and financial the vessel is backed by a contract, has a network they are aware of the developments infrastructure is in place is vital for the guaranteed cash flow i.e., revenue, then the in this space. So, in many ways we cover the commencement of a project and for the more risk averse fund/investor is suitable full project-funding spectrum very well and I industry to evolve, i.e., the cost of electricity for this. Whilst the speculative build vessel, think a lot of exciting opportunities are in will be driven as much by the cost of capital as with no contract/certain cash flow will store for us as a team. it will be by the cost savings generated by demand a somewhat higher return and a economies of scale, and both will only go more risk loving fund is likely to provide the www.waterworks-offshore.com down if projects happen. capital. The key is to assess each project’s risk, the financial structure of the PES: Can you explain a little about your opportunity and then to match it with the match-making approach between investors risk appetite of the fund/investor. and service providers? PES: With new maritime investment NH: Essentially, it is about matching investor opportunities presenting themselves all the appetite to the project type. If it is an time, particularly in the growing offshore early-stage venture fund, then we won’t and renewable energy sector, how does the match it with an infrastructure style, single expertise of Waterworks help identify digit, stable return wind farm for example. green energy and capital investments in The early-stage investors in green projects modern market offshore assets? will command 15% IRR at a minimum, which is reasonable given many of these projects are NH: I think we have a really good team pre-commercial stage and with no proven structure which enables us to fully cover all large-scale roll-out track record. bases that such an approach would involve. What I mean is that, coming from the buy The most risk averse investors will only side, I am aware of what the investors would come in when a project is built and like, what type of capital they are willing to operational, they also have the lowest provide and how they wish to go about doing return expectations and offer the most it. Sven and Valentine are highly specialised attractive ‘home’ to such capital-intensive with the vessel market and given their 64 PES WIND



CORPORATE FOCUS 66 PES WIND

CORPORATE FOCUS Key insights across in-service wind farm assets using ultrasonic NDT and robotics The skills shortage within the sector is a challenge for all. Could robots be the solution? Here, Stacey Rivers, Business Development and Operations Manager at BladeBUG, explains how its innovative robots will operate both onshore and offshore, working independently, or collaboratively with a drone or technician, to perform a diverse range of inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) tasks. We are heading for a global shortage of skilled, experienced wind technicians, with an increase of 33% required within the next four years: up from 426,700 in 2021 to 568,800 by 2026. That’s according to a joint report by Global Wind Organisation (GWO) and Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), which revealed an additional 142,100 technicians will require training, equipment, logistics support, insurance and all other expenses incurred to carry out their role, if current labour- intensive operations & maintenance (O&M) practices continue. This means more than half a million workers are facing the risks and challenges of rope access each day to keep lights on around the world, and that’s in the wind energy sector alone. There is a safer, more efficient way. BladeBUG is a UK-based advanced robotics company, on a mission to accelerate the green energy transition through robotics and automation. The brainchild of Chris Cieslak, a design engineer with extensive experience leading wind turbine and composite design projects, it will play a vital role in revolutionising the wind industry’s O&M solutions. In many countries, rope access is restricted due to health and safety regulations, leaving costly, labour intensive and time-consuming alternatives as the only choice. BladeBUG and other disruptive technology solutions enable a safer and more cost-effective WWW.PESWIND.COM 67

CORPORATE FOCUS approach, which in turn lowers the Levelised of the systems integrated into BladeBUG’s require accurate, reliable data to better Cost of Energy (LCoE). latest prototype, has seen first-hand the understand their assets’ value and this is cost and time savings made possible through where it presents a real opportunity,’ Founded in 2015, in response to the increasing the adoption of NDT. Jason continues. demand for renewable energy and a foreseen skills shortage, the company has developed its ‘With a straightforward, quick to deploy, Endless opportunity cutting-edge technology to utilise a diverse user-friendly system, technicians of all suite of tools with purpose-built capabilities, experience levels can generate analysis- It’s not just those within the NDT supply such as Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), as an ready images of materials in real-time for chain that have high hopes for the future answer to the wind industry’s O&M challenges. quick decision making,’ Jason Smith, Chief adoption of its technology. Commercial Officer at Dolphitech, explains. ‘The driving force behind the last seven years Innovate UK, Offshore Renewable Energy of research and development has been, and ‘Our latest 0.7MHz transducer enables us to (ORE) Catapult, GE Renewable Energy, continues to be, the opportunity to step penetrate wind turbine blades up to about and RIMA provided funding or support for outside of the wind industry’s current O&M 120mm to detect defects. To date, it has also BladeBUG, demonstrating the positive ‘status quo’ to provide a safer, more cost been used by customers developing response to the research, development, effective and accurate solution for a range of spacecraft, cars, passenger jets and other and industry adoption of this cutting- IMR activities,’ Chris Cieslak, Founder of critical assets, as well as being used for in edge technology. BladeBUG, explains. service/maintenance inspections proving it as a technology our customers can rely on.’ The company has also received support and ‘Ultrasonic Testing (UT) technology has been input from all levels of the supply chain, utilised in highly regulated industries such as Dolphicam2 enables high resolution imaging including three Tier 1 companies within the aerospace, oil and gas, and defence for and precise measurements for a wide range wind sector, which asserted their interest in decades, with a strong track record of of material types including composites, the development and utilisation of the success. By incorporating NDT solutions into metals and multi materials, making it an ideal company’s unique robotic platforms. operations, OEMs and O&M providers can fit for use on turbine blades. ensure a scalable approach for the industry’s ‘We are proud to engage with a range of future growth.’ ‘As wind farm owners look to extend the life trusted, knowledgeable collaborators not of their assets, we anticipate an increase in only across renewables, but the wider Tried and tested technology proactive O&M activity which could benefit technology and innovation sector, to from this technology. What’s more, as produce a holistic solution to the wind Dolphitech, developer and manufacturer of owners look to transfer assets, they will industry’s main pain points,’ Chris explains. the UT technology platform Dolphicam2, one 68 PES WIND

CORPORATE FOCUS According to ORE Catapult, the O&M phase wind turbine at ORE Catapult’s 7MW inspection of wind turbines, but the accounts for between 20% and 30% of the Levenmouth demonstration turbine off manufacture of them, which has brought LCoE of a wind farm. When carrying out the coast of Fife. with it its own pain points. repairs, an NDT solution can help make informed decisions faster, as well as A year later, in 2021, it successfully As Gaël Panis, Senior Blades Consultant at maximising asset uptime with quick performed its first remotely controlled GP-MC explains, ‘new blade manufacturing deployment and collaborative working, lightning protection test on an offshore processes have resulted in better blades but saving time and money. This is made possible wind turbine, performing a series of checks have brought with them the challenge of by a range of factors including the size of the and tasks beyond the visual line of sight some common defects within the materials equipment required and ease of use. whilst the robot operator remained in the themselves, which can only be identified safety of the nacelle. through NDT. ‘For offshore wind, vessel availability is a further concern, with logistic solutions often A proven solution ‘The technology is used during the proving expensive and harmful to the manufacturing process in critical areas, environment. By utilising a remote NDT Fast forward to July 2022, and the company however many of the defects we see are only solution for IMR activities, we can reduce the visited An Avel Braz’s wind farm, Parc éolien evident after several months or years of use.’ number of technicians required offshore, de l’herbissonne, to perform a UT scan on a saving valuable space onboard CTVs and targeted area of a wind turbine blade with NDT in manufacturing can be significantly SOVs,’ Chris continues. visual damage. more straightforward than NDT in-service. Working in the field requires consideration ‘Upskilling and reskilling the workforce for The proof-of-concept pilot project was a for logistics, operating environment, access the use of these solutions is a high priority for success and highlighted the benefits of to material characterisation, probability of us, which is why we have worked with end collaborative working between the wind farm detection and reliability of data captured to users to ensure ease of use and an adaptive, developer/operator, An Avel Braz, the name just a few. fit-for-purpose product.’ inspection services provider, GP-MC, the robotics company, BladeBUG, and the NDT The current in-service NDT inspection Making history technology provider, TPAC. solutions are delivered either by rope access, suspended platforms, or Mobile Elevated In 2020, the BladeBUG achieved the world’s With over 15 years’ experience in the field of Working Platforms, but these potentially first blade walk by a robot on an offshore composite materials, GP-MC has seen bring HSE, logistical and cost challenges. technological advancements in not only the WWW.PESWIND.COM 69

CORPORATE FOCUS There are a few alternative innovations being Next steps trialled onshore, but these are significantly larger and/or heavier than BladeBUG, and The use of NDT technology in wind farm IMR require multiple skilled people onsite, presents a range of opportunities, from numerous ground anchors and specialist improved turbine efficiency through cheaper, ropes or cable systems. safer proactive maintenance, to cost savings within every area of the O&M project, from Gaël was instrumental in the pilot project, logistics to insurance. and saw first-hand how a smaller robot, utilising the latest in NDT technology, could To realise the potential of this technology improve the cost, accuracy, and efficiency of within the wind industry, we need further IMR. He continued, ‘although relatively new collaboration with all levels of the supply technology, with early-stage application chain, and more early-adopters, like GP-MC, within the wind industry, the technology is to support the development, testing, trials necessary for the future of wind farm O&M and industry adoption of this innovative, activity, especially as turbines increase in size adaptable and enabling technology. and quantity. www.bladebug.co.uk ‘That is why this technology has the potential to be one of the best on the market. This was evident in the on-turbine testing we carried out this year, which highlighted the opportunities this compact robot presents for the wind industry.’ Gaël’s sentiment is one shared by Cyril Thibault, Sales Manager at The Phased Array Company (TPAC), which provides UT hardware, software and technical support to a range of industries globally, and supplied the phased array UT for the pilot project. ‘The size and adaptability of BladeBUG offers a new opportunity for the wind industry. Using a crawler, in conjunction with, or in place of, a drone, means better control over the inspection as the crawler is in contact with the blade, and offers a stable platform for the tool that is being utilised,’ Cyril explains. ‘The pilot project proved that we could build on our learnings and adjust the platform to suit the solution. This presents huge opportunities for BladeBUG and similar advanced robotics in the wind industry.’ About the author Stacey Rivers FIMarEST CMarTech is Business Development and Operations Manager at BladeBUG. With 27 years’ experience in maritime operations, working both offshore and shoreside, Stacey brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role. As a Fellow at the Chartered Management Institute, a Fellow member at IMarEST and a Chartered Marine Technologist, Stacey helps drive positive change through industry collaboration and more than two decades of innovation. She is also a STEM Ambassador and was previously a Women in Engineering Society (WES) Mentor, supporting and encouraging women and young people to pursue a role in Engineering, Technology, Maritime and Renewable Energies. 70 PES WIND

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CORPORATE FOCUS Bringing cable wrapping methods out of extinction 72 PES WIND

CORPORATE FOCUS Although dinosaur comparisons in business often refer to outdated machines, in the case of the VelociWrapper, the opposite is true. A play on the fast, fierce and famous dinosaur known as the velociraptor, the VelociWrapper is a cable wrapping machine designed to speed up triplexing. The name is so clever and memorable, it recently won an award for best name at a solar energy convention. PES was keen to find out more. VelociWrapper was founded by Torrance cheaper, and faster way to triplex and bundle Bistline, who has installed countless miles of cable in the clean energy industry. He came underground MV cable for wind and solar up with a machine, the VelociWrapper, which farms. He saw that when triplexing, or requires no fuel or power source, making it trefoiling was required, the standard method 100% green. was a cumbersome and costly process, which involved people following behind the reel Using a patented pulley system, the trailer and zip-tying the cables together by VelociWrapper is powered by harnessing the hand before it was put into the trench. This weight of the cables as they are being pulled process was slow, inefficient, unsafe, and through the machine. This weight rotates a difficult for everyone involved. carriage holding the wrap supply, tensioners, and rollers that in turn spiral wrap the cable in a With 15 years of experience in equipment consistent bundle that stays tight and uniform. design for the construction and farming sectors, Bistline began searching for a better, ‘When the cables are laid in the ground using the VelociWrapper, the tightness and WWW.PESWIND.COM 73

CORPORATE FOCUS consistency contributes to 5% to 8% more positive impact on the net profit. On a installing 1,000 feet, or 305 meters, of cable efficiency in the transfer of energy through multi-million-dollar installation project, one using the zip tie method would be $350 for zip to its destination, which also reduces heat customer said, ‘We were going to come in at ties, $145 for four employees for one hour and extends the life of the cable,’ explains 400% over budget, but with your system we which equals $495. Compare this to the Bistline. ‘The VelociWrapper can enable came in on time and under budget.’ estimated cost of doing that same job with construction companies to save so much in the VelociWrapper costing $41 in materials material, labor and time, the machine will pay The VelociWrapper can help save 60% in and $8 for two employees with the job for itself in around 200,000 trench feet, or labor costs, 80% in material costs, and 90% completed in just four minutes. The total 60,960 trench-meters, of installed cable.’ on time. For example, the estimated cost of triplexing cost would be $49. The VelociWrapper is a sturdy, well-built machine, made to last. To this day, even the original prototype is still working in the field. Triplexing with the VelociWrapper increases safety in the cable installation process, since it greatly reduces the need for employees to be on the ground or in the trenches doing back-breaking work and exposing them to the dangers of being inside the trench. Furthermore, with fewer employees working outside following the reel trailer for hours on end, there is less human exposure to sun, wind, rain, snow, and cold temperatures. As construction companies save money on clean energy installations, it has a positive trickle-down effect on the end consumer. The less it costs to install wind and solar farms, the less it costs consumers, the more consumers will make the switch to clean energy, and the faster we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Obviously, speed matters when it comes to saving the planet. The traditional zip tie method of triplexing cables can be installed at about half a mile per hour. The VelociWrapper can accelerate the cable installation by 90%, which of course has a 74 PES WIND

CORPORATE FOCUS To help clients determine just how much About the company weekly Step-It-Up Meeting to energize money they will save using the VelociWrapper everyone in the shop. We have lunch versus zip ties, the web site www. VelociWrapper is based out of Southern together once a week, and on Fridays we velociwrapper.com offers a clever return on Utah, an area abounding with dinosaur have some sort of outdoor adventure investment calculator. track sites, fossil locations, and dinosaur together like hiking, fishing, four- museums. The name VelociWrapper was wheeling, or mountain climbing. Since founder and inventor Torrance Bistline a natural choice since the velociraptor is a This encourages exercise, teamwork, spent years in the field laying cables, he dinosaur known to be fast and fierce, just bonding, and appreciation for understands how to make the installation like the machine. The actual town, Hildale, the environment.’ process more efficient. Due to his ability to Utah, is a little hamlet nestled between discern the nuances of the installation vermillion cliffs on the back side of Zions In the manufacturing plant, they want process, he has been able to help clients National Park. employees to be able to do the jobs they implement ways to improve their efficiency, enjoy doing. They rotate jobs to prevent save money, and increase the bottom line. As VelociWrapper is motivated by the burnout from monotony. When the consulting services have become evident as a desire to speed up sustainability for employees need a diversion, they can client need, the VelociWrapper team has humankind. Not only is the company play basketball on the company recently started offering clean energy driven to do its part in cleaning up the basketball court. installation consulting. air and taking care of the earth, but it plans to introduce new initiatives to ‘We try to develop the leadership in each The company offers accessories for the help people to thrive by stepping up in individual,’ explains Torrance Bistline. ‘So VelociWrapper as well, including a custom sustainable living in other areas as well, we teach them all about the business designed trailer for pulling the VelociWrapper starting with its own employees. because ultimately, we want them to take behind the reel trailer and a Fairlead which is over the business.’ VelociWrapper is also an attachment that connects to a skid-loader ‘We try to promote a uniquely positive, instituting an employee innovation fund or telehandler and can route the cables from growth-oriented culture to help people where an employee gets to designate how the reel trailer through heavy duty rollers flourish as employees and individuals,’ to spend a set amount of money to make directly into the trench. This eliminates the explains Ron Johnson, the company the company better. They have an need to reel the cables out and then move COO. ‘We use the Jurassic period as a IN-Genius award for those who come up them to the trench as a separate process. metaphor for company culture because with good ideas, and a PowerHouse The latest development currently being it was a time known for its warm, wet bulletin board where employees give designed is an array roller system to speed up climate where lush vegetation and kudos to other employees. and improve the installation of collection abundant life thrived. We believe in cables under solar arrays. helping the world survive and also thrive.’ ‘Certainly, VelociWrapper is a clean energy manufacturing company with a positive Currently, clients can purchase the Every morning the employees start the work environment,’ Bistline continues. VelociWrapper and accessories directly from day with inspirational readings from ‘But this is just the beginning. Our values the company or through its authorized self-improvement material. Truston to help humankind speed up sustainable dealerships. For those who simply wish to Bistline, brother of the founder, is the living could lead us to any number of rent, VelociWrapper can offer rental production manager over the innovations in the future.’ opportunities from distribution and rental manufacturing shop. He explains some companies with whom it partners. The of the activities they do to keep positive www.velociwrapper.com company is now expanding its marketing and energy in the workplace. ‘We have a distribution efforts internationally as well. WWW.PESWIND.COM 75

2023OmUeTdiNaOdWata WIND POWER NOT HOT AIR Sensoria™ by MISTRAS Liebherr DarkPulse Conference Call SensoriaTM by MISTRAS 4cast MO4 Conference Call DNV Clir TÜV SÜD Conference Call Exploring the technology Powerful machinery to The future of sensing and What to expect from Looking at the future of Forecasting technology Data driven strategies and What to expect at Going underground to Modelling the wake effect to Towards a standardised Be inspired and informed around blade damage meet the demands of a monitoring in the air, 27 to 30 September as blade integrity with the rise to keep grid frequency decision making that rise the Offshore Energy monitor the structural optimise performance and model for sustainably at RenewableUK’s detection growing industry on land and at sea WindEnergy Hamburg of Industry 4.0 and NDE 4.0 constant to the challenge whatever Exhibition & Conference health of turbines improve investment produced ‘green’ hydrogen Global Offshore Wind makes a welcome return the weather in RAI Amsterdam Conference and Exhibition (GOW) 2022 in Manchester WIND from 21 to 22 June WIND WIND We’re delighted to bring you news of the latest All the latest news, opinions and innovations from PLUS The latest thinking and technological advances innovations and product developments in this fast- throughout the industry, including product updates, from across the onshore and offshore sectors. moving sector. We take a look at some of the driving expert analysis, insight and viewpoints from the We bring you insight from several of the industry’s forces behind the industry’s growth and ask leading key players. pioneers and leading names, alongside our regular players for their insight and thoughts on what the helping of opinion, reflection and analysis. future may look like. PLUS exploring latest industry trends and legislation, objective thoughts on burning issues and lots of food PLUS thought provoking opinion from several of the for thought from this existing sector industry’s movers and shakers, analysis and insight. POWER AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 3, 2022 POWER AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 4, 2022 POWER AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 2, 2022 INNOVATION ACCELERATING TAKES CENTRE OFFSHORE STAGE RIDING THE WAVES OF PROGRESS WIND ENERGY’S ESSENTIAL MEDIA DESTINATION 18,000+ READERS EXTENSIVE ONLINE AND MOBILE REACH BIG NAME INTERVIEWS NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS UNMISSABLE FEATURES AND AGENDA-SETTING COMMENT email [email protected] today www.peswind.com

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TALKING POINT © LMc / Hunterston / graphic with locations and steam times / XLCC rendering Marine yard 78 PES WIND

TALKING POINT Manufacturing energy hubs will fast track the floating offshore revolution Lewis McIntyre, Managing Director, Port Services at Peel Ports Group, makes the case for creating floating wind manufacturing hubs and attracting investment for long-term growth. With an urgent need to exploit our domestic Lewis McIntyre energy market, which delivers cheaper and greener energy, the future opportunities this hotbeds for floating offshore wind can bring can’t be understated. components on western shores, which are Manufacturing hubs, as centres of excellence capable of supporting both of these key for floating and fixed offshore wind, would development zones. support thousands of new jobs, allowing for the transfer of skills from the oil and gas ScotWind’s leasing round for 15GWs of sectors and build an industry that could floating offshore wind and a further 4GW off support a true circular economy. the Welsh coast in the Celtic Sea are key opportunities. But we must also look beyond The UK Government’s £160m Floating these. Why can’t we exploit other sites off Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) represents a significant opportunity for the private sector to boost offshore wind capabilities, reduce development times and deliver a legacy of UK manufacturing with global export potential. The government’s Offshore Wind Acceleration Taskforce (OWAT) is looking to address the issues that slow down the potential to grow this sector. This, together with the FLOWMIS fund, provides an opportunity to build an industry with legacy prospects. So, where best to invest? With significant and fresh opportunities to develop floating wind farm sites off the Celtic seas and North Scotland, in deeper waters, the answer lies in creating new manufacturing WWW.PESWIND.COM 79

TALKING POINT © LMc / Hunterston / graphic with locations and steam times / XLCC rendering Innovation Centre Indicative steam North Scotland the coast of Ireland, or indeed further afield times from and truly maximise on the export potential. Hunterston Parc SCOTLAND To attract investment, we must look beyond (12 knots per hour) Machair/Shearwater EDINBURGH the here and now, manufacturing for more than specific named sites, and develop a strategy Machair / GLASGOW which brings in private sector investment for Shearwater the longer game. The appeal of floating wind is 7.5 hours that we can build and tow, literally anywhere suitable. We can export both expertise and Liverpool Bay product, investing for long-term growth. 12.5 hours Just as we’d see with a major manufacturer of Celtic Sea vehicles, we can build and support an 24 hours end-to-end supply chain. An anchor tenant at the heart of production, with a range of North Scotland support and satellite businesses to build parts 27 hours and components, would create a ripple effect of investment and deliver a modern and Off-shore area efficient green energy manufacturing engine. Route Floating wind manufacturing hubs would enable a world-leading sector capable of Off shore locations producing components at scale, and in turn lay the ground for its businesses to expand too. NORTH SEA Investing in shovel-ready sites will be a N OI RRETLHAENRDN fundamental element to fast track deep- water port infrastructure if we are to reach BELFAST our ambitions, and avoid likely bottlenecks as we accelerate efforts for self-sufficiency and Liverpool Bay energy security. LIVERPOOL MANCHESTER At Peel Ports, we’ve earmarked two of our sites as Energy Transition Hubs, able to DUBLIN IRISH support such ambition; Hunterston PARC on SEA the western coast of Scotland and Great ENGLAND Yarmouth, on the south east coast of England. ATLANTIC OCEAN Great Yarmouth Hunterston has tremendous potential to BIRMINGHAM become a global manufacturing hub for floating LONDON offshore wind and the revolution has already WALES started. This former coal terminal, with its deep water port, Europe’s largest dry dock, on-site CARDIFF BRISTOL rail connectivity and national grid connections allows for a broad range of occupation options Celtic Sea due to its sheer size and location. ENGLISH CHANNEL XLCC, the HVDC subsea cable manufacturer, has been granted planning permission in © LMc / Hunterston / graphic with locations and steam times / XLCC rendering 80 PES WIND

TALKING POINT © LMc / Hunterston / graphic with locations and steam times / XLCC rendering Overview Hunterston for a high voltage cable energy transition hubs would enhance the Hunterston PARC manufacturing facility with associated opportunity to unlock much needed capacity. • M ajor UK asset for the renewable testing and research laboratories. These economic benefits would underpin the long term investments needed in the UK. energy market There’s now significant potential to further • Ideal base for offshore wind enhance Hunterston’s proposition, by The government, working together with attracting complementary manufacturing industry, can simultaneously kick start a manufacturing base businesses supporting floating and fixed manufacturing revolution, which fast • O ver 320 acres available with offshore wind, creating a nucleus capable of tracks our need for cheaper homegrown delivering all the components needed for clean energy, whilst creating opportunities favourable planning status planned and future wind farm opportunities, for skill transfers and employment for the • Plot sizes accommodate up to whilst driving innovation across the sector long term. through collaboration. 4 million sq ft If we are to reach ambitious targets of up to • On-site rail connectivity Great Yarmouth, the UK’s most eastern 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, we must • Deep water and dry-dock on site deep water facility, with extensive align to a vision that removes obstacles along • Significant grid connections experience in renewable energy provides the way, whilst looking further afield to • On-site water and discharge another significant hub for manufacturing. develop manufacturing for the long term, • Proximity to Glasgow & Prestwich With its proximity to sites such as East delivering research, design, fabrication and Anglia One, the potential for a floating build maintenance capabilities, exporting UK Airport and tow base is now further enhanced by its products and knowledge worldwide. • Significant support from UK and new planned O&M Campus, where manufacturers can draw on world-class Peel Ports’ Energy Transition Hubs are located Scottish Government research and development. at Hunterston PARC on the west coast of Scotland, King George V Dock at Clydeport WWW.PESWIND.COM 81 Applying some, if not all, of the benefits of and Great Yarmouth on the East coast. the newly launched ‘Investment Zones’ to www.peelports.com

ASK THE EXPERTS 82 PES WIND

ASK THE EXPERTS A powerful forecast Competing in the energy market means selling your power before it is produced. How, therefore, do you ensure you can meet or exceed your projections by keeping your grid frequency constant? PES heard from Sascha Bauer, CEO at 4cast, about the power of technology to forecast the energy output from renewable energy power plants. PES: It’s great to speak to you Sascha. cooperation with the European Center for Sascha Bauer Perhaps we should begin with a brief Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). introduction to 4cast, if we may? PES: So your focus, currently at least, is on Sascha Bauer: Thank you very much for energy yield predictions driven by your having us. 4cast is a joint venture of wind machine learning models, is that correct? power pioneers and scientists. Our team competences range from physics, SB: That is correct, we have a specialized meteorology, data science to state of the art model for every purpose. First and foremost, machine learning techniques. Currently, we every machine learning model needs input focus our efforts on forecasting the energy data. This training data consists of high output from renewable energy power plants, resolution weather and historical production so far wind and solar, with consecutively data of the respective power plants. We use a increasing accuracy. range of different model architectures each fitted for their designated objective. If at Furthermore, within the framework of the EU least one year of historical production data is Maelstrom project, 4cast has a leading role in provided, we train Boosting models. With the development of software tools for a additional live data input, we set up Recurrent better work flow when using weather and Neural Networks (RNN). However, if there is climate forecasts based on machine learning no production data at all, for example if it is a techniques. In this regard, we work in close new plant, we set up a physical model. Production and Performance data kW Big Data € Weather data Microfactors WWW.PESWIND.COM 83

ASK THE EXPERTS Solar energy forecast example economic advantaBgeeissopfieknl oSwolinagreynoeurrgpioewveorrhersage power in kW output is timhemdeedtiaaiLtlsee.liyOsctnuopmnagppreienr,hkaeWcnesirbtlaein, twheind devil is in 1200 speed leads to a certain power output of the turbine, in a functio1na2l0re0lation called power curve, specific for the turbine model. forecast In practice, there are many factors that Vor 900 influence the actual p9o0w0er output next to the Solar energy forecast example wind speed. Transmission service operators 6p0o0wer in kW production sometimes need to apply curtailments to Pro prevent power grid overloads, leading to shutdowns of entire p6a0r0ks for a short period. Blades can collect ice in winter or official 3010200 regulations for wildlife protection can also 0 lead to the isnhtuhtedowwakn3eo0of0fpalannottsh.eArttuurrbbiinnee can be located 900 reducing power output, just to name a few forecast examples. We adjust forecasts accordingly 2022-09-03 2022-09-04 so that an operator does0not have to worry -03 and does not have to go through the 2022-09 time-consuming procedure of data post processing. RWegiunldarerenterarginyinfgoarnedcacsotnteinxuaomups lmeodel productionroom for error. If you cannot meet your PES: Your approacBherieslpieiesloWn iinntdeellnigeerngtieanvdorhersage adaptive algorithmLesi,sctournregcitn? kW 600uppodawteesrainrekaWn integral part of our workflow. expected output or overshoot, there will be SB: Exactly, no mo2d0e0l i0s0determined forever fees and penalties to pay to transmission O2u0r0m0o0tivation for these extended and service operators who have to ensure power and no model stands for itself. It is in fact one ongoing efforts is simple. When societies aim grid stability. production pdexaieamcmeppeolnfeg,pweoaewrceinlrootshuee1tlypf5oum0rtoe0acn0naidtsostramevvaeectnhhtiensVeto.hFrahotrersage tfpro1roem5mc0iess0eioo0tunariclnaerssghetohpratataraftnoroderfleiotnhcntaergiisnrttseeirncmaelrlpgyoyfwlnueecretuodausttipnugt, Therefore, knowing how much power is production data for training adaptive produced in the next 15 minutes, next hour algorithms that help to identify these events 300prediction becomes indispensable. or next day is crucial for a wind farm operator. Furthermore, knowing your energy yield in production data1. 0000 P1E0S0: W00hat are the challenges that wind gives you as an operator the opportunity to plan maintenance work more efficiently. farm operators face in this regard? SB: As a wind farm operator, you are naturally PES: This is a result of a lot of research over ob5lig0a0t0ed to compete in the energy market. PES: How do your services aim to help? many years, isn’t it5?000 0You always sell your power before it is SB: With our service we significantly reduce 2022-09-04SB: 4cast was founded in 2016 and we 2022-09-03produced. As you may know, keeping the grid the process of plant micro management an focussed our efforts mainly on research since frequen0cy constant at 50 Hz leaves little operator usually has to go through. While the then. Naturally, our expe0rtise is built on the 2022-07-13 2022-07-14 2022-07-13 Wind energy forecast example power in kW 20000 production 15000 forecast 10000 5000 0 2022-07-13 2022-07-14 84 PES WIND

ASK THE EXPERTS experience of our professionals and the latest Numerical weather prediction/Live data Customer/Additional input scientific knowledge. We constantly keep 0110 learning from our insights to create ever more Applicable for 1101 accurate forecasting models for our clients Single plant 0101 and a successful energy transition. 0011 1010 PES: Accuracy is of course important. How accurate are the results produced by 4cast? Power prediction Entire wind park Event indentification model ML ML SB: This is quite an important question. First we have to differentiate between solar and Events considered Event wind farm forecasts. Solar forecasts are (Downtime, Icing …) database usually more accurate, errors can go down to only 2% since less factors influence the Forecast outcome. Radiation is more predictable and less chaotic than wind speed. For wind farms, thousand euros. This paves the way for more SB: As you may have noticed in the prior accuracy depends highly on the complexity reliable day-ahead contracts and improved analogy, chess is a finite game with clearly of the local topography and also on the sales planning for the market. When defined rules. In an environment like this, quality of production data provided by focussing strongly on machine learning machine learning approaches are superior. operators or owners. A measure of thumb for approaches you can also minimize the But machines can not draw out borders and the expected error is around 10% to 12%. potential human error. derive the rules. This task still falls into human competence. PES: In fact, you claim ‘absolute precision’. The ability of algorithms to identify How is that made possible? patterns in observations, in combination To keep an overview over a complex situation with their scalability, surpasses the working with growing demands, translating and SB: Absolute precision is naturally not to be capacity of any human being. Let me fitting it into a finite system a machine can mistaken with 100% accuracy and 0% error, emphasize this point by an illustration. operate, is the challenge we face at 4cast for which is impossible. It means we absolutely Machine learning models playing chess the renewable energy sector. For this regard do not compromise in pushing for precision in have been trained by masters of chess and we aim to identify and include more data our own models, in our work and in the aim for with numerous training cycles as well as sources and any small factor that exerts an customer satisfaction. constant fine tuning. Now these models influence on the output of the plants. beat any grandmaster of the game. In fact PES: What kind of elements does your data one single algorithm beats a thousand We aim to make processes independent from take into account, that normal weather grandmasters in a thousand different error sources like rogue or coarse-grained forecasts don’t? I’m thinking in terms of the games simultaneously when provided with data, improve weather data downscaling and terrain, surface conditions, vegetation or enough computing power. human communication aspects. We believe neighboring systems in a park? in giving our customers a software solution PES: Is this the future of forecasting for that has no vulnerabilities. For this we have SB: We use specialized weather data with a the wind industry do you think? Is there the grandmasters of the game in our team. much higher spatial resolution than usually more to come, from 4cast in particular? used for a typical weather forecast. This https://4-cast.de data includes wind speed and direction in many layers above the surface. Furthermore, we take wake effects from neighboring turbines and therefore lower wind speeds into account. Our machine learning algorithms help us to identify events in historical or live production data to assert a higher level of precision. PES: How far ahead are you able to forecast? SB: Precision naturally declines the further ahead you predict. We offer forecasts up to 4 days into the future, after that, weather prediction data intrinsically gets uncertain to be a reliable base for power forecasts. Weather is a chaotic system and its predictability is limited. PES: Is it possible to apply the forecast to individual facilities, as well as an entire wind park? SB: Yes, it is entirely possible. Just let us know your purpose and we will be able to provide 15 minutes power output for individual facilities or entire wind farms. PES: In summary, then, what are the main advantages of this type of forecasting? SB: The main advantage here is the customizability. A forecast optimized by even a few percentage points will save you several WWW.PESWIND.COM 85

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TALKING POINT Forward-thinking maintenance LiMain by Liebherr keeps changing our view on maintenance. At the beginning of this year and in a first for PES Wind, Gregor Levold, Sales Director Offshore, Ship and Port Cranes at Liebherr, introduced the system. It is the company’s in-house solution for fast and reliable maintenance of offshore platforms. Since then, it has attracted a lot of interest from a wide scope of stakeholders recognizing the necessity for smart responsiveness in a rapidly changing offshore wind environment. Here, we pick up where we left off in early 2022 and take a closer look at the advantages it can represent. Safety, service, sustainability and smartness immensely on resources, whether will be essential features required for the personnel, material or transport. It is future in global offshore wind. It may turn out impressive how this unique system works to be decisive within this challenged market to and how it looks. https://www.youtube. adapt to a business changing ever so rapidly. com/watch?v=vD7oh-t1Hn4 Wind wheels and wind farms growing in size will produce increasing amounts of electricity, The foundation of LiMain is its modular requiring even more powerful machines, as system architecture, consisting of four well as cranes. Broadly speaking, personnel modules. They are called Automatic on, or in charge of, platforms must have the Greasing, Condition Monitoring, Predictive tools to be in control, no matter how Maintenance and Remote Maintenance multifaceted and complex the situation at Cycle. Together, these enable operators to their given location is. determine the scope of intelligent maintenance that meets their particular LiMain, short for Liebherr Intelligent needs. With the Condition Monitoring and Maintenance, is a remote maintenance Predictive Maintenance modules offering system that brings digitalization to platforms crucial support for crane operators, worldwide. Its state-of-the-art features particularly when it comes to maintaining full allow components, mechanics and control in any location and/or situation. maintenance workers to interact efficiently. It enables anyone to take charge of the Predictive maintenance and the scope of platform crane entirely remotely. It also has the future platform enormous potential to enhance and simplify work on platforms. Consequently, it may It is true that in industry or service, the change the way we think about maintenance economy is increasingly benefitting from in a fundamental way. things such as big data and will vastly rely on it. ‘Predictive Maintenance’ can therefore provide Up to 75% less mobilisation and up to 50 knowledge of decades of Liebherr crane fewer man-days on platforms are possible. construction and servicing. The advantages As a result, platform owners will save are striking, even more so when combined with live-data from ‘Condition Monitoring’. WWW.PESWIND.COM 89

TALKING POINT The modules Automatic Greasing will continuously check critical components, automatically lubricate them when needed, even in complexly installed positions. Condition Monitoring benefits from sensor technology to give detailed data about the crane as well as its components, monitored in real-time to deliver an unprecedented level of insight. Predictive Maintenance puts ad-hoc data into context, building on decades of experience from the construction of over thousand offshore cranes. The module serves as the foundation for an optimised product and component lifecycle. Remote Maintenance Cycle combines and interconnects all of the modules, enabling the crane to be actively moved, with semi-automatic maintenance and self-diagnosis enabled. Therefore, it will help to understand how installation to carry out an inspection, entire year, representing an extraordinary components work most effectively or when LiMain can inform him in advance about a business advantage for each and every they will require replacement. The information part that needs to be replaced. This platform owner.’ will also champion development in order to ensures that all parts are available. continuously improve already very good Consequently, the machine has no This means that you can work more components in years to come. Furthermore, it unnecessary downtime while additional independently of time and space. As a fully will also enhance accuracy and safety in terms travel or working time is also avoided, all digital, semi-automatic and remote of transport, customer care or interaction while reducing the carbon footprint. maintenance system, LiMain represents a between parts and personnel. future workplace in a digitalized world. It ‘LiMain and its compelling modular system is empowers platform owners to remotely take Simply LiMain where you are indeed priceless,’ comments Stefan decisive action anytime. With security in Schneider, Global Application Manager for digitalization also being paramount, the The system decreases the need for service General Purpose Offshore Cranes. ‘This system features a VPN-encryption people on platforms and shortens the time magnificent feature simply enables you to embedded into a tunnel solution. Based on spent there. Eventually, it brings a wider act whenever, wherever. Ideally, you have to that the system and the crane data is range of advantages too. For example, visit your platform only once during an protected from third party access. when an engineer flies to a distant 90 PES WIND

TALKING POINT ‘...LiMain is a technological step towards the future of global offshore wind, as new technologies and an increasing level of automated processes play a more important role in the years to come.’ Providing opportunity for finding it attractive to progress with ‘change’ maintenance is made possible. This will tomorrow’s economy for a greener environment. represent the opportunity to attract personnel too, needed for tomorrow’s This clearly demonstrates how LiMain can As a consequence, people can be far away, market share within a big energy business. improve crane availability. Importantly, it can while controlling components even from significantly lower operational costs (OPEX), their hometowns. There’s a shortage of In this respect, LiMain is a technological which is key for platform owners since it qualified offshore workforce visible on the step towards the future of global offshore defines their respective profit margin. In this horizon. The ever growing absolute demand wind, as new technologies and an increasing context, it is worth mentioning that the in operation and maintenance, due to the level of automated processes play a more installed overall turbine capacity will be more sheer expansion of future offshore wind, important role in the years to come. For than sixfold in the global offshore wind could be easier covered with the available now, the system is a shining example of how market. Individual sizes of wind turbines are quantity of staff. Beyond that, in a widely the company is keen for technological predicted to grow to up to 20 megawatts automated centralized maintenance progress with the development of smart, until the end of this decade. infrastructure, as LiMain implies, less in-house built solutions. Liebherr is aiming information gets ‘lost in translation’, thus at improvement and In the long run, offshore wind will play a major improving data and process consistency. forward-thinking ideas role. Yet, the hunger for energy consumption within a changing offshore is vast, so ‘old energy forms still satisfy a In summary, LiMain can be defined as an wind market. huge demand. Nonetheless, new ‘green jobs’ outstanding game changer, paving the future could be found, being attractive particularly of the platform market. Platform owners can www.liebherr.com among younger job seekers and people save on resources while simplified WWW.PESWIND.COM 91

THINK TANK ©Fraunhofer IWES BU: Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab Leuna: green hydrogen in the chemical industry New ways to satisfy future demands with climate- neutral hydrogen Words: D r.-Ing. Sylvia Schattauer In the future, hydrogen will be a fundamental building block for the transformation towards a climate-neutral economy. Its various production methods and possibilities for use will render it essential. For the conversion of the energy system, hydrogen offers the possibility of storing the volatilely produced renewable energies, and it will also play a key role in raw material use for the decarbonization/defossilization of the industry. 92 PES WIND

THINK TANK In the medium and long term, the continuation of current regional industrial durability, reliability, cost reduction potential, development towards green hydrogen, with structures and the parallel development of raw material availability, and resilience along the electricity required for its electricity- new areas of application such as in mobility the entire value chain, from production to based production coming exclusively from and the heating market. storage and transport right up to the renewable energies, must therefore be respective area of use. adopted to comply with the reduction of Similar growth is expected for the European greenhouse gases. As such, the task at hand is and global markets, provided the envisaged As a result, it is not only the technology itself to work simultaneously and in an open-ended climate goals are maintained. The current which must be convincing, achieving trust manner at different points in a new value energy policy situation will lead to and acceptance is also decisive. Naturally, chain. This is both exciting and challenging at acceleration, as issues such as supply security new approaches must also be pursued in a the same time, especially since there is are now increasingly coming to the fore. technology-independent manner in order to currently no market for green hydrogen. achieve the greatest possible potential in all We thus have the green light from climate- areas on the way to the clearly defined goal of At present, the market for climate-neutral neutral hydrogen customers, but the sustainable climate neutrality. Achieving this hydrogen is still limited, with around 1.1 million challenges in terms of the development of goal under the current energy policy t/a of hydrogen being used in Germany. This is the entire hydrogen value chain from an framework conditions increases the pressure almost exclusively in the chemical industry economic and ecological perspective will still for one thing, but above all the complexity. and based on gray hydrogen, that is to say involve a great deal of work. hydrogen produced from natural gas by means Price of hydrogen production of steam reforming. First, the expansion of renewable energies is a fundamental prerequisite, but it will not be The suitability of a technology for the The industry’s future demands for climate- explored in more detail here. Rather, there is production, transport, or even utilization of neutral hydrogen to implement respective a need for rapid scaling of H2 production hydrogen is highly dependent on the decarbonization strategies have already capacities. As demand for green hydrogen location factors and the respective intended been put into figures and assume a grows, which consequently has priority in purpose. The quantity of climate-impacting continuously increasing demand as of 2026, decarbonization strategies, this logically emissions resulting from the production and starting with the technological changeover starts with the electrolyzer power use of a technology is the prominent to direct reduction in the steel sector. As conversion system and its coupling with evaluation criterion from a climate early as 2030, demand across all sectors in renewable energy sources. protection perspective. Germany alone will add up to more than 3 million t/a1, with continuous growth to What does that mean for research needs in However, the decisive aspect for the around 20 million t/a in 2050+, subject to the the short, medium, and long term? establishment of a sustainable green Essentially, the key to the success of a hydrogen economy will be the price of 1 Schattauer et al, NWR study 2022 hydrogen economy is to ensure its safety, producing the hydrogen. This depends on the ©Fraunhofer IWES BU: Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Lab Leuna: green hydrogen in the chemical industry WWW.PESWIND.COM 93

THINK TANK BU: Fraunhofer IWES Hydrogen Labs, Germany: a comprehensive research infrastructure based on the three Hydrogen Labs in Bremerhaven, Leuna, and Görlitz (www.hydrogen-labs.fraunhofer.de/en.html) energy carrier employed, i.e green energy for field of research, the need extends from that is hydrogen 3.5 or 5.0 and availability, ie. green hydrogen, the investment costs for the ongoing basic research to applied research volatile production with continuous demand. conversion equipment including for industrial establishment, which is electrolyzers and both upstream and currently to be viewed as the priority, On the basis of these data, operating downstream infrastructure, and the although the aspect of the qualification and models can then be developed and availability and capacity utilization of the further training of specialists must also be a economic analyses conducted in order to conversion equipment for volatility risk, focus at present. optimize the design and operation for including storage and transport strategies, industrial applications and enable as well as import strategies. Before green hydrogen can be distributed integration into process steps. and used, it must first be produced in Furthermore, the integration of individual Gray hydrogen currently represents the corresponding quantities and at competitive plants into complete energy systems, taking benchmark, although the development will prices in the medium/long term. One key into consideration the resulting interactions depend highly on political decisions, on the component here is the scaling of the on both the physical as well as the economic availability of raw materials, especially of production capacities of hydrogen systems level, is also a central aspect. gas at present, and gradually on the price of and their components. Considering the CO2. However, the price development also urgency, this can initially occur on the basis In this respect, the interaction of electrolysis highlights the dependence on considerable of existing systems predominantly designed with wind energy in a dynamic context and the innovation progress in the areas of for factory production. actual behavior of the technology units in the production, transport, and the conversion power grid deserve particular emphasis. of the areas of application such as steel In parallel, however, there is an evolutionary Fraunhofer IWES now offers a comprehensive production, chemical industry, mobility, need for research in the area of the analytical research infrastructure based on the three and heat. optimization of design and materials as well Hydrogen Labs in Bremerhaven, Leuna, and as their tailored manufacturing technologies Görlitz for this purpose www.hydrogen-labs. In the field of green hydrogen, the availability in order to reach the next development fraunhofer.de/en.html of electrolyzers, regenerative power stage in good time, including as far as costs, generation, and the process-engineering energy and material use, safety, and One previously underestimated area conversion of derivative production are durability are concerned. concerns the upcoming conversion of the particularly relevant. These areas of the existing plant infrastructure of the hydrogen value chain must be developed and Further development and research processing industry in the fields of the steel expanded quickly and simultaneously. Rapid infrastructure requirements aim to test MW and chemical industries as well as, in the transfer of research results to industrial electrolyzers as complete systems in order context of the development of synthetic implementation is essential here. to be able to determine operating, fuels for defossilization of air and shipping performance, and degradation data under traffic, in the field of refineries. Research is needed realistic operating conditions. This is to be tackled in the short term in Innovation is an undisputed force behind Further testing is required in particular for parallel to the ramp-up of climate-neutral sustainable economic development, dynamic operation with simulated load hydrogen production and includes the especially when it comes to the fluctuations corresponding to the provision thrilling task of decarbonizing decades-old establishment of new value chains, as will be of renewable energies as well as with a view production processes in ongoing operation required for the hydrogen economy. In the to the application areas regarding quality, by means of technological progress, for 94 PES WIND

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THINK TANK example, in the field of methanol and flagship project H2Mare, which can be supply of the entire system, including the ammonia synthesis, or fundamental, new described as a lighthouse project in the peripheral components, is provided by the process technologies, as will be necessary in German research landscape. wind turbines. This creates the need for new the field of synthetic naphtha. There is a design concepts. broad technological basis for all processes, A brief insight into current concepts and the including steelmaking and e-fuels. The task present state of research of offshore Conclusion increasingly concerns scaling up to industrial hydrogen production is therefore exciting. In scale while taking all economic and ecological terms of volume and cost potential, offshore In all areas, staying ahead of the times is issues into account. wind energy offers good conditions for decisive in Germany when it comes to the energy-intensive hydrogen production implementation and transfer of the excellent Ultimately, the topics of offshore hydrogen compared with direct electricity use. scientific basis into innovations and essential production and the digitalization of the energy Furthermore, compared with onshore wind for a climate-neutral economy. system with the integration of a hydrogen energy, offshore wind energy also offers value chain are also subject to a considerable higher and more stable wind speeds, which is However, time is becoming increasingly need for technological development. beneficial for more continuous operation of scarce. Consequently, many research issues electrolyzers and results in lower hydrogen must be tackled in parallel and in some cases Prospects for offshore hydrogen production costs. in advance, and perhaps we may not always production be on the right track in these fast-moving Offshore hydrogen production can be times, where framework conditions and The future demands for green energy in divided into concepts for self-sufficient requirements evolve drastically in industry and the energy sector exceed the offshore hydrogen production which are not unexpected ways, as the current energy current hydrogen production capacity, connected to the grid and hybrid concepts crisis has shown, but the envisaged direction which is largely based on fossil energy with a corresponding connection to the is still without alternative. Our first-rate carriers at present. Identifying a location for grid. The advantages of hybrid offshore research environment is in place and ready, sustainable hydrogen production is thus hydrogen production result from the higher and that is certainly a reassuring feeling. essential. However, the availability of flexibility in operation and a greater onshore locations is limited. In contrast, abundance of usable electrical energy. Fraunhofer IWES: current projects offshore hydrogen production offers In addition, with hybrid operation, provided enormous potential for covering future there are no grid bottlenecks in the Investments in infrastructure worth green hydrogen requirements. upstream power grid and sufficient approx. €70 million transport and storage capacities are Offshore hydrogen production is in its available for the hydrogen, the decision can Hydrogen Lab Bremerhaven: infancy and faced with corresponding be taken flexibly as to whether the electrical Electrolyzer system tests, coupling with research and development challenges if it is energy produced is fed directly into the grid multi-MW wind turbines, connection to to achieve the goal of cost-efficient offshore or used for hydrogen production. virtual medium-voltage grid hydrogen production. These encompass the entire ecosystem: from the design and Drawing on corresponding model-predictive Research facility from 2023 coupling of the components to the further control procedures, it is possible to decide development of individual technologies right automatically during operation, on the basis Hydrogen Lab Leuna: Green hydrogen up to the investigation of possible impacts on of the contribution margins and other production for the chemical industry, the marine environment. technical criteria, which form of operation is system testing of all types of electrolyzers economically advantageous. In addition to up to 5 MW and auxiliary units, power-to-X At system level, the focus is on the total participation in the conventional electricity efficiency in terms of cost and efficiency. market, that is electricity exchange or Research facility since 2021 Correspondingly, system configurations in over-the-counter trading, a grid connection coupling the different technologies must and enables the provision of negative control Hydrogen Lab Görlitz: Testing of are being optimized in order to avoid energy. The addition of a fuel cell unit can electrolyzer components, application in unnecessary losses due to additional expand a hybrid offshore hydrogen industrial manufacturing and converter stages, for example. As regards production system into a power storage decarbonization, test infrastructure the hydrogen components, the focus is system able to provide positive control with 12.3 MW particularly on the effects and stresses of energy. The disadvantages of this approach the marine environment on materials. are the significantly higher investment costs. Research facility from 2023 The corrosion effects on the materials in The lack of a grid connection means H2 Mare: Offshore production of green the saline environment must be researched. self-sufficient offshore hydrogen production hydrogen With regard to the scaling up from the plants are associated with low investment research laboratory to industrial scale, costs and boast higher site flexibility. Project term: 2021–2025 mechanical loads in both in-turbine The hydrogen can be transported away concepts and hub concepts need to be either by pipelines or by vessels. H2Giga: Serial production of investigated and taken into account during electrolyzers for market ramp-up the development of the technology. The advantage of pipelines is the high and continuous throughput volumes as well as Project term: 2021–2025 Electrolysis technologies must be optimized the transport in gaseous state. The latter with respect to the generation profiles of avoids further energy losses, which occur OntoHy: Fraunhofer competence the wind turbines so that they can be shut during liquefaction of the hydrogen, for platform for application-oriented down if minimal signs of degradation appear. example. Which transport solution is hydrogen technologies Harmful conditions must be researched to advantageous again depends highly on the the extent that they can be avoided in distance to the coast and the volume to be Project term: 2021–2025 accordance with appropriately designed transported. One challenge is the control processes. Seawater treatment is a dimensioning and control of the wind H2 Digital: Construction of a digital central research topic where media supply is turbines and the electrolysis or the individual architecture for mapping of the green concerned. A large quantity of these plant components. Furthermore, the energy hydrogen economy research topics is being addressed by the Project term: 2021–2022 More: www.hydrogen-labs.fraunhofer. de/en.html 96 PES WIND

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THINK TANK A robust submarine cable dataset at your fingertips The key to working in harmony with our ever-changing subsea environment Words: G ail Clark, OceanIQ Managing Director Our reliance on the intricate network of subsea cables continues to grow globally. There is a significant boom in offshore renewable energy generation, satisfying the increasing demands of the world whilst also plugging the gap in capacity lost as more traditional generation methods come to end of life. And it’s extraordinary to contemplate the phenomenal demand for data, which today penetrates every corner of the globe. Both surges in connectivity rely almost entirely on vital cable infrastructure on the sea floor as it circumnavigates the globe between countries and continents. Offshore wind farms are a regular feature kilometres of submarine cable that makes include in service cables, including telegraph, around the British coastline. According to a such interconnectivity possible. Mapping coaxial, fibre optic, inter array, export and recent submarine power cable report from and interpreting this complex submarine interconnectors; detailed as-laid cable ESCA (European Subsea Cables Association) cable network is a highly specialist activity routes; out-of-service cable data; cable there are currently 18 operational wind which depends upon an abundance of high maintenance zones; and cable fault analysis. farms around the coast of the UK, with a quality data. total of 1,075 turbines. With a further five Comprehensive cable data is critical to feed under construction, eight with planning Multiple layers of cable route information into detailed route development, effective permission and a potential 30 more in crossing strategies and successful cable development. It’s a market that according to Planning, installing, and maintaining subsea protection approaches for future systems. the GWEC (Global Wind Energy Council) will cables has been taking place for well over a Understanding the most common cause of see a further 235 GW of new offshore wind century. But the task hasn’t become simpler. faults in a specific area is essential when capacity being added to the global portfolio We’re having to share the seabed like never considering cable types and developing cable within a decade, and now sees this before, with an ever-increasing number of burial strategies. sustainable energy source expanding assets on the seafloor and specifically the beyond its foothold in Europe, and gaining growth of offshore renewables having an The considerations and constraints can be traction in both America and Asia. impact on existing and new cable examined in detailed Desktop Studies or infrastructure. There is currently over 33,000 FEED (Front End Engineering Design) If you combine this with the seemingly km of in service power cable and over 1.5 Studies, and will generally include the insatiable universal demand for data which million km of in service fibre optic cable following: geohazards, including geological has seen a 19% increase in the world’s installed subsea, and that doesn’t factor in all faults, slope instability, mobile bed-forms, population accessing the internet over the of the redundant infrastructure which still pock marks, and the type and consistency of last five years alone, according to Statista, remains in situ. the seabed; anthropogenic factors, the scale of this submarine cable network including the activities of other marine only just becomes comprehendible. To build a full picture of what’s below the stakeholders/users, such as fishing, surface, and therefore protect valuable cable maritime traffic, and risks from anchors, These mind-blowing statistics emphasise assets from risk as much as possible, there military activities, aggregate extraction, the importance of the millions of are many layers of data and knowledge that recreational activities, other cables and need to be applied to an environment. These WWW.PESWIND.COM 99

THINK TANK become a reliable component of a subsea system, overall saving project time and any extra costs. Another key factor to consider is ensuring 24/7 access to your own cable data sets, holding cable crossing information centrally and managing the ongoing and accurate upkeep of the data – a small oversight that could cost heavily in delays. Accessing highly important data In September, OceanIQ launched its online submarine cable map, with what is believed to be the most accurate data set available freely online. This generalised data goes way beyond other more illustrative offerings and shares some of the knowledge built by the OceanIQ team over many, many years. oceaniq.co.uk/submarinecablemap is a free to access resource for anyone across the globe With a company history dating back to the formation of the submarine cable industry, pipelines, and existing offshore energy extended time on site for chartered the submarine cable map comprises a projects; environmental factors of marine vessels, replacements of sections of cable fascinating data set. This free to access protected areas and their associated as well as latter repair campaigns, not to resource for anyone across the globe means restrictions; archaeological marine mention the cost of any downtime on that data and insights are much more protected sites and unexploded ordinance service interruption and loss of power accessible and can be shared more widely and the avoidance and/or removal of transfer in the case of interconnector and with interested parties. munitions found near cable routes. Specific export cables. cable protection assessments, landing point Customised data access assessments, geotechnical studies and The planning and installation phase isn’t charting services all feed into the route always to blame, the root cause could also OceanIQ has also evolved their engineering of a cable system no matter stem right back to the design and trademarked GeoCable data product too, what the project or where in the world. manufacturing phase of the asset itself, it introducing GeoCableLight, a secure could be down to the operation of the cable, web-based platform that enables a wider It’s ideal to select a route that allows for the or even due to the shifting landscape of the group of individuals to have view-access to cable to be repaired at all points of its seabed including because of natural the entire accurate data set; making this length, with adequate separation from other disasters. Whatever the cause though, industry-leading data set accessible cables or seabed assets. This means enough proper planning and the considerations that beyond the traditional GIS and route space to enable the repair without go into that need to be brought under the engineering users. GeoCableLight is compromising neighbouring cables, as well microscope to ensure that cables can accessible on the move too, on mobile and as completing reburial if necessary. This on tablets, which yet again changes how kind of detailed planning simply isn’t this data can be digested. possible without access to data that allows a full picture of the seabed environment to be This of course does not eliminate the constructed. This utopia however, is requirement for access to the full GeoCable becoming far less of a reality, as the intricate network of subsea cables that navigates the globe is increasing at a phenomenal scale. Pre-planning is not just essential, it ultimately has the ability to limit delays during costly installation operations. Reducing risk whilst saving time and cost Following the increase in seabed usage from industries such as telecoms, renewable energy, oil & gas and resource mining, data can help prevent risks to both the installation of the cable and its ongoing security, as well as inform the process of acquiring permits during the planning phase of a project. Cable faults and failures are a key issue for OceanIQ’s cable fault rate heatmaps use over 4,300 historical faults to easily identify areas of high risk enabling the industry and one that can cost tens of effective project planning millions of dollars in project delays, 100 PES WIND