The shipping companies Jan De Nul and Deme have been awarded further contracts in two consortia for the construction of the artificial “Princess Elisabeth Island” (Elia), which involves laying cables.
Jan de Nul has been awarded a contract for the supply, installation and testing of three 220 kV AC cables as part of the island project, which is designed as an energy hub. In a consortium with LS Cable & System, Jan de Nul will supply, install, and test the cables. Jan de Nul had already secured a major contract for the project last year together with Deme.
Now it’s all about submarine cables. They will transmit 3.5 GW of renewable energy from “Princess Elisabeth Island” to the Belgian high-voltage grid on land. The artificial energy island is seen in Belgium as an “important milestone for the country’s and Europe’s transition to renewable energy” and is “of crucial importance for the integration of energy systems.”
The island is still under construction. It is to become an electricity hub that will bundle the cables of the second offshore wind zone in Belgium (the Princess Elisabeth Zone) as well as future cable connections to other European North Sea countries such as the United Kingdom and Denmark. It will be built on concrete caissons filled with sand and will almost exclusively house the transmission infrastructure. The total capacity of the artificial energy island will be sufficient to supply around 3.5 million Belgian households with green electricity.
Wim Dhont, Head of Offshore Cables at Jan De Nul Group, said that with a versatile fleet, Jan de Nul is able to offer a one-stop solution that includes offshore cable laying, dredging, rock protection, civil and environmental works.
Jan de Nul and LS Cable renewing their partnership
The shipping and hydraulic engineering company and LS Cable are also renewing their partnership following previous collaborations.
The contract covers all work for three 220 kV high-voltage cables with a total length of 165 km. The cables will be laid in 2028. LS Cable is responsible for the design and production of the cables at its plant in South Korea. Jan De Nul and its fleet will be responsible for the transportation, installation and protection of the cables between the island and the Belgian coast using its cable-laying vessels “Connector” and “Willem de Vlamingh” as well as the offshore support vessel “Adhémar de Saint-Venant”. The trailing suction hopper dredgers from the Jan De Nul fleet will be used to level the seabed before the cable is laid.
Deme cooperates with Hellenic Cables for artificial island
Deme, another Belgian shipping, offshore and hydraulic engineering group, has also been awarded a contract for the island – together with cable manufacturer Hellenic Cables.
According to CEO Luc Vandenbulcke, Deme is currently working on the largest project for cabling between the individual turbines in the Dogger Bank wind farm – the largest wind farm in the world. This year, orders were also received for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1.
The new contract for Princess Elisabeth Island includes the planning, supply and installation of the high-voltage submarine cables that connect the energy island to the Belgian onshore power grid. Deme will deploy one of its cable-laying vessels as well as several trailing suction hopper dredgers and jack-up vessels for the project.
The 165 km of cable will be manufactured at Hellenic Cables’ factory in Greece, with transportation and installation scheduled for 2027.
“Princess Elisabeth Island”
- 45 km off the Belgian coast
- 6 ha footprint
- Important step towards generating 300 GW of offshore electricity by 2050 in Europe
- Takes in 3.5 GW HVACE and transforms it to 220 kV for transportation to the mainland
- Interconnection point with the British and Danish power grid
