Kongsberg Maritime’s vessel technology boosts sustainability in the offshore wind industry

Offshore wind farms have the potential to produce more electricity than the world needs. Highly efficient at harvesting wind energy, turbines are becoming larger, taller and more powerful. Moreover, wind farms are moving farther and farther out to sea. All these factors make turbine installation expensive for the companies and hazardous for the workers. In addition, most wind turbine installation vessels (WTIVs) run on fossil fuels. This means they have a sizeable carbon footprint, even though wind farms themselves produce clean energy.

To meet these challenges, innovations are needed that lower costs, improve worker safety and reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions in the offshore wind industry.

Kongsberg Maritime has combined advanced technologies from its product line to address the specific needs of WTIVs. The state-of-the-art dynamic positioning (DP) system cooperates with the integrated propulsion system, energy control system and sensors, ensuring accurate operation with heavy loads.

These are integrated with various systems, such as engines, electrical systems including batteries, deck machinery, and control and safety systems, to provide superior vessel performance.

Kongsberg Maritime’s WTIV solution substantially reduces costs associated with wind farms. Shipyards will save engineering hours and cabling and installation work, while owners and operators will see lower operating expenses thanks to more efficient installation operations. Ship designers can work together with Kongsberg Maritime on solutions that free up space and reduce vessel weight on newbuilds, ensuring optimal efficiency.

Kongsberg Maritime’s WTIV solution improves worker safety through various means. Optimal positioning of the vessel and crane towards the installation puts workers in the safest position to carry out their tasks on tall turbines in open seas. Moreover, the WTIV solution allows crew members and engineers to access the most recent data available, creating a working environment that ensures safe and accurate operations.

The company’s technology also reduces the carbon footprint of WTIVs. Tailored energy control functions optimise the vessel’s energy efficiency, and the battery-hybrid electrical system includes advanced ThrustAllocator™ and PowerBoost™ functionalities that can reduce the number of engines online and the amount of fuel required for crane operations and DP manoeuvring.

Moreover, Kongsberg Maritime provides a solution for power regeneration from the jacking system and cranes. To minimise downtime and further reduce the environmental footprint, the company has developed a new onboard environmental advisory system called EcoAdvisorTM.

The offshore wind market is projected to reach USD 1 trillion by 2040 and is expected to drive demand for WTIVs with improved performance and greater energy efficiency. Kongsberg Maritime is helping to meet this demand with its state-of-the-art technology.

Recently, Kongsberg Maritime signed contracts totalling USD 57 million with the Chinese shipbuilder COSCO Shipping (Qidong) Offshore. Under the agreement, the company will supply comprehensive technology packages for two new WTIVs, which COSCO is constructing for the Denmark-based service provider Cadeler.

“Cadeler is committed to providing safe, high quality and reliable offshore services, with a strong focus on safety and the environment,” says Mikkel Gleerup, CEO of Cadeler. “KONGSBERG’s innovative WTIV solution will help us to pursue new levels of efficiency and enable the world’s transition to a future built on offshore renewable energies.”

The first of the new WTIVs, which will service the European renewable energy market, is expected to be delivered before the end of Q3 2024. The second is expected by Q1 2025.

Kongsberg Maritime is an international leader in maritime technology, providing innovative, reliable and sustainable “full picture” solutions for all marine industry sectors. Headquartered in Norway, Kongsberg Maritime has manufacturing, sales and service facilities in 34 countries.