The Norwegian shipbuilding company Aker Solutions has received a new order from Dragados Offshore.
A steel substructure for BalWin2 in the German North Sea will soon be built in Verdal. The order is worth at least €130 million.
The project is part of the converter station developed by Amprion Offshore. It is a so-called High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system, or Network Code on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). In future, it will connect the BalWin2 wind farm to the energy grid. Dragados already exercised its option for a second converter station for the BalWin project in February; the next steps will now follow. Additional converter platforms are also being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg.
“We are proud that Dragados Offshore has selected Aker Solutions as the contractor for the second BalWin steel substructure,” said Sturla Magnus, Executive Vice President for Aker’s newbuilding division. “This will allow us to leverage our standardization and industrialization efforts to increase productivity and reduce costs.”
The exact cost has not been disclosed, but Aker defines the order as “significant”. This puts it at between NOK 1.5 and 2.5 billion, which corresponds to between €130 million and €217 million. The substructures will be manufactured at the Aker Solutions shipyard in Verdal, Norway. At peak times, more than 450 people will be employed on the project. For Aker Solutions, the contract includes the procurement, production planning and construction of the platform’s substructure. Preparations will begin in the first quarter of 2026, construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2027 and delivery is currently scheduled for 2029.
