Vestas and Maersk Supply Service have entered into an innovation partnership to jointly develop solutions and next-generation technology for the sustainable energy industry. The partnership aims to address the industry’s future challenges within installation and logistics to decrease the cost of energy.
Driven by consumer demand for sustainable energy and continuous reduction in levelized cost of energy, global wind energy production is set to double by 2027. One of the industry’s main challenges to continue this trajectory is to lower the cost of transporting and installing wind turbines as they increase in size and will be installed in remote locations.
Combining Vestas’ insight into sustainable energy with Maersk Supply Service’s marine and logistics experience, the companies will collaborate on solving challenges within the industry related to logistics, installation, and service. Despite different backgrounds, Vestas and Maersk Supply Service have overlapping long-term goals — Vestas’ ambition is to be the global leader in sustainable energy solutions and Maersk Supply Service’s vision is to actively take part in solving the energy challenges of tomorrow.
As the partnership’s first step toward addressing these goals, the two companies are developing a crane solution for both onshore and offshore wind turbines that could significantly bring down the cost of installation. The installation concept, called Vertical Installer, involves a crane that will enable the use of lower cost assets in the logistics value chain. The project is being developed in cooperation with MHI Vestas Offshore Wind, and has received $7.4 million in funding for the next three years from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Programme (EUDP) via the Danish Ministry of Energy, Utilities, and Climate.
“The partnership with Maersk Supply Service will significantly improve and expand Vestas’ existing market-leading capabilities for advanced installation and logistics solutions,” said Bo Svoldgaard, senior vice president for Innovation & Concepts at Vestas. “We have a strong strategic fit, and the new Vertical Installer crane underlines how the partnership will support our goal to improve our efficiency in an area that will grow in importance as turbine components get bigger and infrastructure become more complex.”
“This is an exciting step for Maersk Supply Service and a great example of how our marine knowledge and versatile fleet can be leveraged in new industries,” said Steen S. Karstensen, CEO of Maersk Supply Service. “Our partnership with Vestas and the development of Vertical Installer demonstrates that we are taking action to overcome industry challenges and ensure that the energy needs of the next generation are met.”
“The Vertical Installer crane is the latest example of innovation that will continue to drive offshore wind forward,” said Flemming Ougaard, chief operations officer at MHI Vestas Offshore Wind. “The concept will allow for improved logistics and more efficient installation — critical areas for our customers’ business case. We are proud to participate with Vestas and Maersk Supply Service in bringing this concept to life.”
Maersk Supply Service initiated and continues to drive the Vertical Installer project with the aim of finding a more efficient method to install offshore wind turbines using its current fleet. Vestas and MHI Vestas Offshore Wind are providing the industry insight necessary to ensure the new solution is tailored to industry needs and developed with the most up-to-date knowledge of challenges, logistics, operator requirements, and potential design modifications for future wind turbine models. They are also providing access to test facilities both off- and onshore, which will reduce project risks and the time required before the solution is available in the market.
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